Bittersweet Bones
by missrebecca
Summary: They say you always want what you're running from, and Isabella Swan knows this to be true. That doesn't mean she's prepared for the dangerous Jasper Whitlock entering her life, sending her into a spiral of betrayal and sacrifice that will change her existence forever. AU, vamps.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to my new multi-chap. I have six chapters currently written and I imagine there'll be a chapter posted a week, maybe a couple, but we'll see.

I hope you enjoy it :)

Bittersweet Bones

by missrebecca

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There was a run in her stockings. It had been catching on the back of her shoes for the entire length of the street, but she wasn't about to turn back. The heels were high, and many other women would have struggled on the cobbles, but she'd grown used to the rushed walk after doing it every night for the last few years. It wouldn't be long and she'd be back inside.

The moon was high tonight; it almost managed to shine its light on the cloistered street through which she walked. But the moon wasn't her friend; it hadn't been for over ten years. Give her sunlight and a place with no shade, only then would she be safe.

Crossing the bomb site, she dodged bloody mattresses and soiled sheets, as she ignored the catcalls from the meths drinkers and homeless children that played in the rubble. Men tried to stop her, thinking her a prostitute from Cable Road, but she stopped them with a steely look; she'd dealt with things far more dangerous than some addicts.

There were no streetlights in this part of London, all bulbs had been smashed so often that the council refused to fix them. It made the streets dangerous, for those who didn't know their way. However, she'd lived in and around the docklands for many years now, since the middle of the war - the longest she had spent in any of her hiding places - and while other women would feel frightened in those forgotten streets, she only felt protected.

Finally she reached the club, an actual club, too, not like those brothels masquerading as cafes she lived above. She walked in the front door, and greeted some of the regulars, passing Wilf at the bar and giving him a playful wink, before heading through to the untreated brick back room.

It was always freezing, but she was used to being cold. After removing her camel wool coat and fur stole, she touched up her lipstick in the cracked mirror and fixed her tight fitting dress that stretched down to her knees. After tutting at her torn stocking - there was nothing to do about it now - she sashayed out into the bar and picked up a tray to begin her night.

There was always such a variety of life in the bar; dock workers with a little extra in their pockets and no family to go home to, business men from town who fancied themselves a little dangerous dabbling in the east-end bar, local couples with no children - though from the look of some it wouldn't be long. She waited on them all, silently picking up empty glasses and replacing them afresh. By the time ten o'clock rolled her eyes were horrifically tired, but the night wasn't over yet.

At ten on the dot, the piano man who'd been playing all night gave her a nod, and she disposed of her tray and took to the small stage at the back of the room. The building had managed to survive the blitz, and this little corner bar with its stage and upright piano was something left from the twenties, back when everyone tried to replicate American speakeasies. There was a microphone in front of her, but it wasn't connected to a thing, they couldn't afford that. With no introduction she began to sing, new things she'd heard on the radio, and oldies that her mother used to listen to through the gramophone.

She sang for an hour, and after a smattering of applause left the stage. She collected the last of the glasses, and Wilf rang the bell for last orders, though none ever came. In dribs and drabs their few customers vanished into the night, and by midnight they were locking the doors.

"You were good tonight," Wilf complimented, as together they upturned chairs onto tables.

She shrugged. "Same as every night."

Wilf gave her a look, a look she'd been seeing a lot from him but not one she could reciprocate. Her heart was caged off, broken years before and scarred from the pain. But his eyes made her feel warm and worthy of being loved, so she returned his smile with a cautious one of her own.

After the floors had been swept and the glasses cleaned, she collected her coat from the back room and headed back out into the cold London streets. At that time of night, even the meths drinkers were asleep, holed up in the foul smelling bomb sites, while the children cowered in abandoned or condemned doorways. All was silent as she walked and she enjoyed the quiet.

There was a blister on the back of her heel, and under a working street light she unhooked her shoes and carried them on two fingers. In the dark night she felt almost carefree, something she hadn't been for over a decade, and she reveled in the feeling of whimsical freedom; until the hairs on the back on her neck stood on end.

She'd always had a good feeling for danger, something that had failed her a decade previous, but not now. She knew the fear that was creeping upon her. One of _them_ was behind her.

She stopped; she couldn't out run it. But nothing came. Taking a deep breath she overcame her nerves and turned back to face her foe. Her eyes were used to the dark, and could see the outline of something standing a few yards away.

She didn't say anything, until the dark became too oppressive and her nerves too frayed for her to remain silent any longer.

"Well," she said, "aren't you going to kill me?"

Silence.

"Look could you get it over with?" Her tone would have suggested nonchalance, were it not for the tremor in her voice.

"Why would I kill you?" a voice penetrated the dark. It was male and rough, she thought he sounded thirsty, which was never a good thing with the sort she was dealing with.

The thought occurred that perhaps he didn't know who she was, that maybe he wasn't pursuing her and this was all some sort of coincidence. She had a feeling she'd blown her cover, though.

"Sorry," she said, forcing an embarrassed smile. "I was just startled."

The shadow grew closer, though she heard no sound of his feet. Her stockinged feet shuffled back out of fear, ignoring the threat of broken glass on the street.

"Would you like me to escort you home?" he asked.

"No, no, that won't be necessary; I only live round the bend. Thank you, though."

"As you wish. What's your name, by the way?"

In her heart of hearts she knew she shouldn't answer, that it could be worst possible thing she could have done, but she simply couldn't stop herself. "Isabella." She turned quickly away from the stranger, before turning suddenly back. "What's your-" her breath caught as her heart leapt. Where there was once a dark shape there was now only the darkness of the night.

As Isabella ran to her dingy flat, ignoring the glass and filth she trod through, her only thought was that she had made a terrible, terrible mistake.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	2. Chapter 2

This is only a short one, so I'm posting it earlier. The next chapter should be up on Sunday I should think :). The chapter's are not a consistent length, some a very short, like this one, other's a rather longer.

I hope you like it :) and thank you to everyone who's favourited, followed and reviewed this story

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 2

by missrebecca

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The train station was packed tight with Londoners wanting to leave the city. Spring had starting peaking it's gaze on the city and those who could afford it were boarding trains for the coast. Isabella was jostled this way and that, and almost lost her balance more than once before she reached her carriage.

She'd managed to get booked in to a compartment all by herself, it being so early on a morning. She'd left her flat with a letter to the landlord, and dropped a letter for Wilf through the door of the bar. Over the years she'd become adept at cutting all ties with a place. But she'd become complacent in London, it was a place she enjoyed being, she hadn't expected to be there only two years.

As the train pulled out of the station, Isabella pulled a battered copy of Frankenstein out of her suitcase, and spent the next two hours immersed in Shelley's often horrifying world.

After arriving at Bristol Temple Meads, she ignored the porters and walked swiftly out to catch a taxi, and asked the driver to take her to the Palace Hotel. As they drove, Isabella saw first hand the devastation that was so readily reported through the papers. Bristol had been hit hard during the war, but the council there had started work early on restoring the town, so while there were still the occasional bomb site, it was nothing like the place she had just left.

Once she'd paid the driver, Isabella collected her one suitcase and entered the Palace's lobby. It was furnished well, for a hotel that didn't see the use it was expecting, and a room was quickly made available for Isabella's use. Moving to a new place was always difficult at first, and she hoped she'd find somewhere to live soon, preferably somewhere a little more hospitable than the flat she'd lived in last. She dropped her bags in her room, and refreshed her hair and makeup in the bathroom. After making sure her seams were straight and her lipstick unsmudged, she set off into the strange Bristol streets, looking for work.

There wasn't an awful lot a woman like her could do. She had no references and no real home, but the war had left a lot of people out of a home, and some employers took that into account. She found work in a café, where she was told she would be manning the counter, as the previous girl had run off with some ex-soldier she'd met in Bath. Isabella smiled and nodded though she couldn't give a damn about some flighty girl, and shook the owners hand with a smile. She would start bright and early at six the following morning.

The previous night had been spent in turmoil, and the few hours of sleep that she'd managed hadn't been particularly restful, so she headed straight back to the hotel to sleep through 'til dinner.

Under the soft covers, with the sound of Bristol outside, she could almost pretend that the previous night hadn't happened. She could pretend that her heart still didn't jump when she heard something unexpected, and could pretend that she had everything under control. The fact was she didn't, and she probably never would until she was finally caught. However, until that day she was determined to continue her life, to travel and see as much of the world as she could, before it inevitably destroyed itself.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	3. Chapter 3

Here's another short chapter :) I hope you like it

**ETA: Totally just realised that this story was under Bella& Edward - Fanfiction now allows you to put more than one character in, so I had Bella Jasper and Edward, but then it puts them in alphabetical order but then only shows the first two! I'm really annoyed, and also very sorry for anyone who's been reading this expecting Bella/Edward.**

Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 3

by missrebecca

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The café was a little like the bar; quiet.

There were the regulars, and after only a week Isabella already knew them by name, and there were the travellers, the couples, the holiday makers and those who had come to help with the war relief. She made cup after cup of tea, poured lemonade from glass decanters, served cakes made by the local ladies and generally enjoyed herself.

The sun had been out almost every day since she'd arrived in Bristol, and she'd made good use of the short hours (the café closed it's doors at four) by taking trips on the bus to Bath and into Somerset. She enjoyed the country air, and decided that she enjoyed Bristol far more than she'd ever liked London.

On her seventh day in the café, the weather changed. A cold front had been blowing in for a few days, and everyone watched the skies for signs of what none of them wanted. On the Monday after Isabella had arrived in Bristol, the snow came.

It was late, but not entirely surprising and the older folk talked about seeing snow well into June 'back in the old days'. Isabella didn't tell them that snow in June back in the North, where she was originally from, was certainly not an uncommon, but certainly an unwelcome, sight.

It was as Isabella walked back to the hotel, head down in the snow, that she felt the eyes upon her. They'd been there for the last week, but she'd ignored them, chalking them up to nothing but her overactive imagination. But at that moment she knew that someone was following her.

She wasn't sure what to do. She couldn't run, there would be no point, and she could hardly hide, not when they knew where she was. So she chose to ignore them. She ignored the flutter of her stomach and heart, tried to quell the terror that was creeping up her spine, and instead concentrated on getting back into the warmth of her hotel room.

Inside the lobby, she shook the snow off her camel coat, and smiled at the receptionist before deciding to take the stairs. Everyone used the lifts in the Palace, so she knew it would be quiet. Maybe it wasn't the best idea, after all it would be easier for whoever was following her to make her death look like an accident, but somewhere between noticing the eyes watching her and reaching the hotel she had accepted the fact that her time may have run out.

Between the second and third floors she stopped and leaned against the cream wall. There were no footsteps, but she knew they were still there.

"I know you're here," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

But there was only silence in return.

Isabella laughed, the sound hollow as it echoed along the empty stairway. "You're making a habit of this not-answering lark."

It was false bravado, but that was something she'd always been good at. She acted tough and all-knowing in order to hide the frightened little girl she still was inside. So she tapped her toe in false agitation, as though whoever was behind her was keeping her waiting.

"You can't hide your fear from me," a voice travelled as though out of nowhere up to her. Isabella was unsurprised to recognise the voice from her fright that last night in London.

"You know, I'd prefer if this conversation happened face-to-face." The words were barely past her lips before a man materialised in front of her.

Had the wall not been behind her, she would have jumped back a mile. As it was her heart ricocheted up a notch and a cold sweat broke out along her back. Her eyes were transfixed on his, they were bright red, set in a deathly pale face surrounded by a halo of chin length blond curls.

He stood almost a foot taller than her, but in that moment it felt more like three. She felt dwarfed by his sheer penetrating presence alone. It was as though his eyes saw through her, down to her base fears and desires. It was uncomfortable, and she suddenly remembered just why she was so frightened of vampires.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	4. Chapter 4

I'm really glad that most people seem to be enjoying this story! It seems people are liking the short chapter length, and I'm getting so very interesting ideas from people as to what exactly's going on with Isabella and things.

So keep the ideas coming! I love to read them! I now have up to chapter 10 written, and maybe this is mean for me to say, but I can't wait until you get to chapter 9! Which at the rate I'm going will be in a couple of weeks :)

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 4

by missrebecca

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"Would you mind stepping back, please?"

Isabella had pressed herself into the wall, but it was unrelenting, she couldn't disappear inside it. The vampire before her was frightening and intense, but in a way entirely different to those she had left. She got the strange feeling that he didn't know who she was, and he certainly didn't look hungry, but he was standing far too close for her to be comfortable.

"Oh, of course, where are my manners?" The vampire before her smiled and stepped back, but the distance did nothing to quench the fear swelling in her chest.

"Why were you following me?" she asked. She knew it would be best not to give away the fact that she knew what he was, their interaction so far could be put off as anything she'd say to a strange man following her.

"You intrigue me."

She'd heard that before, and it didn't help the nerves swirling inside her. She didn't want to be intriguing; she wanted to be left alone.

Suddenly his hand reached forward and Isabella flinched, slamming her eyes shut. But he was only brushing some unmelted snow from her shoulder.

"Jumpy little thing aren't you?"

"I have my reasons," she replied, attempting to straighten her hair and her face into a more neutral expression. "If you keep following me, I'll have to inform the police."

The vampire chuckled. "We both know you'd never do that."

Though she had a feeling she knew what was coming, she couldn't stop the question slipping past her lips. "And why's that?"

"Because you know what I am."

Her heart sank. This was it, then, the end of the road. In the end she would be killed for knowing, not for escaping, but simply because she knew. It was absurd and the idea took the breath right out of her. She collapsed to her knees in the stairway, both hands in her hair trying to stop the hysterical tears from falling. She didn't know, hadn't known until they'd took her. If they'd left things, allowed things to take their course, she'd never have known, and while yes, she'd still have been heartbroken, she wouldn't have been running for her life for over a decade.

"Hey, hey," the vampire was crouched before her, prying her hands from her hair. His red eyes were concerned and frankly he looked frightened. The idea of someone like him frightened of a little human like her, sent Isabella into a hysterical fit of giggles. "Okay, I think we need to get to somewhere a little more private."

Gently he helped her off the floor, and with an arm wrapped tightly around her waist led her up the final flight of stairs to her floor. At her door she handed him her key without even thinking, her mind was still elsewhere. After depositing her on the bed, he fixed a cup of tea before sitting on the floor at her feet, looking at her as though worried she would go mad again.

"You're not going to kill me?" she asked. Her voice was quiet, like that of a child and she hated how he had turned her into some weak woman.

He shook his head. "No. I think we got off on the wrong foot here. I'm not very good at interacting with...you know." He gestured to her and she smiled.

"Women? Or humans?"

"Both." He smiled and this time she wasn't so afraid.

"Why?" she asked.

"Why aren't I going to kill you? I'll admit I thought about it back in London. You knew what I was and you were so scared, but also resigned, I could tell." He tapped his forehead and Isabella understood immediately. Though her knowledge on his species was limited, she was aware that some possessed supernatural gifts. Evidently he could somehow derive her feelings by just being near her. "But you...it was the resignation, I think, that sparked my intrigue. It was like you'd been expecting me."

"I have. Well, not you, but someone like you."

"Someone who wants to hurt you?" Isabella nodded. "You're going to have to tell me about that."

"Maybe another time. I don't even know your name."

The blond vampire smiled, and extended his hand into the space between them. As Isabella grasped it with her own he said, "Jasper Whitlock, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

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_Let me know what you think :D_


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed and favourited and everything so far. I've been amazed at the response to this so far, and I'm so glad that you all seem to be enjoying this :)

I really hope you like this chapter :)

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 5

by missrebecca

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Sunday, this meant a day off for Isabella. She had no idea what to do.

Breakfast in the hotel had come and gone, and she was still in bed, though she'd been up with the lark. The fact was she just couldn't sleep, there was simply far too much to be thinking about. After Jasper had introduced himself, she'd feigned tiredness and asked him to leave, though it was barely five in the evening. However, he'd acquiesced with a promise that he'd see her again soon.

She'd smiled though her stomach was churning.

Taking a deep breath in, and a slow breath out, she thought over the facts. Firstly, Jasper didn't want to kill her, this was surprising, but also not. She'd met vampires like him before, those who enjoyed the company of humans in much the same way a wolf may enjoy the company of a lamb; it doesn't intend to eat it, though it would eat its neighbour. Second, he didn't appear to know who she was, if he did he wouldn't be nearly so friendly. And thirdly, no matter how charming he appeared, he was still a vampire who was fascinated with her, she knew there would be no getting rid of him until he was done with her.

Realising there was nothing to do but get on with her day; she stood from the bed and sat before the vanity to unpin her hair. After brushing out her curls and getting dressed, she decided it was about time she found somewhere a little more permanent to rent besides a hotel. Somewhere with her own kitchen would be nice.

After looking out of the window and seeing the slush covering the roads and the steady mizzle of rain, Isabella pinned an old hat of her mother's to her curls before heading out into the gloom. Jasper was waiting for her, across the road from the hotel, sheltered in a doorway, though Isabella pretended she hadn't seen him as she started off down the road into town.

Isabella remembered seeing some adverts for tenants in a shop a few doors down from the café, she hoped she'd just be able to drop in and begin renting somewhere. She'd noticed that compared with the last space she'd lived in she could get an awful lot more for her money in Bristol compared to London. A couple of the flats even alluded to having their own toilet, something not often seen in London's east end.

"Good morning," Jasper's gravelly voice at her shoulder caused her to jump, though she tried to contain it, she'd forgotten how quiet vampires could be.

"Morning," she replied.

"Jumpy again?" Isabella shrugged. "Talkative, too."

Isabella's gaze drifted to his, before returning to the snow dusted street ahead. "What would you like me to say?"

"I don't know, how about 'hello, Jasper, how was your night?'"

"That implies familiarity, something I don't wish to have with you."

Isabella didn't need to look to know he was smiling as he spoke. "So testy, what did my kind do to you? Kill your family?"

"No, the German's did that."

"Ah, well. Then what was it? Did one of them seduce you then send you packing?" Isabella's heart clenched. "No, couldn't have been, otherwise why would you think I'd kill you?"

He was looking at her, she could feel his eyes piercing through her skin but she refused to budge. He couldn't know, couldn't possibly. But if he could sense her emotions, surely he noticed her slight panic, was he simply choosing to let it slide? He was both the same and very different from those of his kind she'd previously met. It was unnerving to be on such uneven ground.

"So, what are we doing today?" he asked.

"_I'm_ going to find somewhere to live; _you_ appear to be tagging along for the hell of it."

Isabella glanced his way in time to see him smile, a look she couldn't help but return. "Sounds about right."

They continued walking in silence, and eventually Isabella became somewhat used to Jasper's presence beside her. After double checking the address of the flat in the shop window, they headed off into Bristol, away from the town centre towards the road to Bath. It would be a fairly long walk, but it was one Isabella didn't mind doing in silence; Jasper, on the other hand, had a different idea.

"Tell me about you," he said, as he walked with his hands behind his back.

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," Isabella hedged.

"Why not? Afraid it might get back to someone?"

"No," she spat. "I just, well I barely know you, why would I tell you anything?"

"To get to know me. Don't you know how polite conversation works?"

"Unfortunately it's been lacking in my life for quite some time. I'm all out of practice."

Jasper rolled his eyes but smiled, and Isabella tried not to join in. His smile was infectious, and she had a feeling it had nothing to do with any special gifts he was hinting at before. She simply liked seeing him happy. As she walked towards the flat, she realised she was on dangerous ground, that she'd been here before and she refused to go through it all again. Vampires were strange creatures. Never aging, yet ever changing with the world. They were constant, and she had no idea just how long Jasper had been a part of the world. Their moods could be transient, but their wants and desires were much the same as a human's. However, she realised that this was the first time she was in conversation with a vampire, when her life wasn't in danger, and she knew exactly what he was. If she was going to stay one move ahead of those that chased her, she should use the opportunity presented to her.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay what?"

"Okay, I'll talk, you'll talk. We'll converse. If you want."

Isabella stopped before the terraced house the address pointed to, and turned to look into Jasper's red eyes. She wondered how he went about his daily business with eyes so obviously otherworldly. He was looking at her oddly; it was a strange mix of awe and disbelief.

"What?"

He said nothing, only shook his head and gestured for her to lead the way into the house.

Isabella wondered why she didn't feel threatened to have a vampire at her back, in fact she felt strangely secure when he placed a hand on the small of her back. She didn't like the slide she was falling back down, when it had taken her so long to move on from the last time. Yet she didn't want to stop herself from falling. As she greeted the landlord, she tried to forget about her past, forget about what might happen and simply enjoy her time in Bristol, with or without Jasper.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	6. Chapter 6

So today we learn a little bit more about our Isabella. Just remember that there's a reason for everything, and all shall become clear in due course.

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 6

by missrebecca 

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_Bang, bang_.

"I'm coming!"

Isabella quickly slipped her feet into her favourite pair of black heeled shoes, and, after checking her hair in the mirror, opened her front door. She couldn't stop the smile from overtaking her face when she saw Jasper standing there, bunch of roses in hand.

"You look lovely," he said as he handed over the flowers.

Isabella smiled as she placed the roses in water. They'd spent the last two weeks together since Isabella began renting the flat in the terraced house. At first it was an inconvenience for her, she disliked how Jasper made her feel. The little flutter in her stomach every time she saw him was nauseating, but sometime after the first few days she realised that it really wasn't that bad. In fact she started wanting to see him at the end of her shift every day. She looked forward to the ice cream and the museum visits.

Their conversations were oddly easy. There were silences, of course, but they were never terribly awkward. When he'd asked to take her out for a meal, she'd found she couldn't help but say yes.

They walked to the restaurant in companionable silence, their coats were checked at the door, and Jasper pulled out Isabella's chair. He was the perfect gentleman, and Isabella realised it was far too late to stop what was happening.

They ordered their first course and a bottle of wine, and Isabella pulled out a cigarette. As she exhaled she noticed Jasper's gaze drifting slightly south of her lips.

"My eyes are up here," she said.

He didn't look reprimanded, he only smirked and nodded. "You know, you're not like most other women."

"Thank you, I think."

"Anyone else would have slapped me. English women can be so…"

"Priggish?" Isabella offered.

"I was going to say proper."

Isabella laughed. "Of course you were. Well, my mother and father were never terribly strict, we lived out on our own in the country, the only company was other local farmers. There was no need to be 'proper'. Then I spent a few years in Italy just before the war."

Jasper nodded, transfixed. She hadn't given so much away the entire time they'd known one another. "And I suppose that's where you first met others like me?"

Her eyes widened. She was falling for him, yes, but that did not mean she wished to give her life away for him. "This wine is wonderful," she said, changing the subject. Jasper frowned, but didn't press the issue.

Their conversation continued easily, the only lulls when a server brought their next course. Jasper actually ate, something she'd never seen a vampire do before, she wasn't even aware that they could. Yet she felt it would be rude to ask; she may have been less conservative than most other women her age, but she still prided herself on being generally polite.

For dessert she ordered a slice of chocolate cake, while Jasper asked for a cup of coffee.

"So, what do I know about you now?" he began, "You enjoy the theatre and the radio, you can't stand Sinatra, and would give anything to look like Joan Fontaine, and you fancy yourself a bit of Cary Grant. Is that about right?"

Isabella laughed. It was so superficial, when she had such secrets to hide, and yet those were the important things, to her at least. "Yes, you've got it right. And Cary Grant was brilliant in The Philadelphia Story."

"If you say so," Jasper said smiling. "What about me?"

"What about you?"

"What have you learned?"

Isabella thought for a moment, she didn't have an excellent memory like Jasper, but there were a few things she knew. "You were born in Texas, but have spent most of your life in Europe. You enjoy the decade you're in, but preferred the 1880's - though you haven't told me why. You like jazz and country music, and wish you were a cow-"

Her words were cut off as the waiter, bringing Jasper's coffee, tripped suddenly and spilled the boiling how drink right down Isabella's front, soaking her exposed collar bones and dress. The waiter began apologising profusely, but she only shook him off; Jasper, however, looked ready to kill.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine." Isabella patted her wet chest with the table napkin, though she was worried about the growing redness of her pale skin. "Though we should probably go."

"Of course."

Jasper quickly paid for the meal, and escorted Isabella out onto the cold Bristol streets. They walked quickly back to her flat, where Isabella soaked a flannel in cold water and pressed it quickly to her scalded skin. She hoped it wouldn't blister.

"Isabella," Jasper began, standing in the door of her bathroom. "You didn't jump."

Like so many times around Jasper, Isabella's heart seemed to jump within her chest. "Excuse me?"

"When burning hot water spilled on you. You didn't jump, or wince, or cringe, or show any sign that it hurt."

Sighing deeply, Isabella turned to face him. She'd hoped to keep it a secret, just a little while longer. It was one of the few things the others had noticed about her; it was a trait that, if Jasper had any idea about her, would send alarm bells ringing. "That's because it didn't hurt."

It was obvious he didn't believe her. "It may have been a while since I was human, but I do know that boiling water tends to smart when it hits you."

"Yes, for anyone else."

"You've lost me."

Isabella gestured for Jasper to enter her bedroom. The flat had only two rooms. A bathroom and the main room, in which sat her chairs, bed and kitchenette. Jasper took a seat in one of the armchairs, though Isabella chose to stand. "It's a bit difficult to explain, well, it's not, but...erm."

"Just say it." He only looked worried, and Isabella hoped that he really didn't know who she was.

"I can't feel pain." Jasper was silent, his eyes narrowed before he gestured for her to continue. "My mother was similar, except she couldn't feel temperature either; she even needed a system to go...relieve herself. Thankfully, I can still feel touch, well, pressure. And extremes of temperature I tend to be okay with. I know this is hot, my chest is warm, but it's not painful."

"How does that even work?" His question, innocent and without any sign of previous knowledge, calmed her racing heart.

"I have no idea. It's been...so annoying. I have to constantly check myself to see if I've bruised myself or scratched myself. I can't grow my nails for just that reason!" She was trying to laugh it off, but it was obvious that Jasper didn't think it was funny.

"How are you still here?"

Isabella sighed and sat in the chair opposite him. "Because my mother knew what to do. I didn't have other children to play with, so I didn't know I was any different. I was constantly burning myself, breaking bones and getting bruises when I was younger, simply because I didn't have the painful sensation to tell me that I shouldn't put my fingers in the hinge of a door, or that I shouldn't play with open flames. As I got older I realised that I wasn't invincible. I have to be careful."

Jasper was quiet a moment, before he stood from his chair and knelt on the floor by Isabella's feet. Slowly he reached up a hand and took her delicate fingers with his own. "I could hurt you so easily, and you'd never know."

Isabella sighed. "You do yourself a disservice. As you've rightly assumed, I've been around vampires before, I know how dangerous you can be, but I also know how careful. You know your own strength, you wouldn't hurt me."

"But I could."

Isabella smiled. She enjoyed the feel of his fingers brushing along the back of her hand. "So could anyone."

He was looking at her strangely, though it was a look she'd seen many times before. He was contemplating whether or not he should kiss her, and Isabella found herself shocked that actually, she wouldn't mind at all if he did. Where had the strong woman vanished to? How could she allow this vampire to enter her broken heart so easily? Yet her heart was beating just a little bit faster as he leaned towards her, and her lips were parting all on their own, yet just before their lips touched, he stopped. She hated the catch in her breath, the disappointment that radiated through her.

"You're unlike any human I've met. I'm about to kiss you, and yet you're inexplicably torn between wanting this, wanting me, and disgust. You're entirely too fascinating for your own good, Miss Swan."

Those same words, spoken from a different set of pale, cold lips, while looking into bright red eyes, had once sent her blushing, but no more. Instead she stood abruptly from her chair and walked to the door, standing behind the open wood.

"I think you should leave."

Jasper frowned, but he did as she asked, pausing before her to brush a hand over her hair. "What on earth happened to you?"

Isabella pulled away from him, and looked up through hard eyes. "I doubt I'll ever trust you enough to tell you."

"That's a shame." And with a final longing look he left, vanishing like smoke into the night.

After shutting the door, Isabella sank straight to the floor and felt no guilt in the tears that tumbled down her cheeks as she kicked off her shoes. She wished she knew what to do about him, but before she fell into sleep that night, there was still no answer.

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	7. Chapter 7

Another chapter! It's not that long, but I hope you like it :).

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 7

by missrebecca

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There was a knocking on her door, but Isabella didn't want to answer. After crying herself to sleep the previous night, all she wanted was to stay in bed. It was a Sunday, she had nothing to be up for. She stared at the cracked ceiling, listening to the sound of life outside her window; children ran and shouted, women scalded them from their doorways, the ring of bicycle bells was everywhere - not many cars went down the road by her flat. And the knocking on her door continued.

With a sigh, she left her bed, wrapping her dressing gown about her, she didn't bother checking her reflection in the mirror. There were only two people that could be knocking on her door, and the rent wasn't due for another week.

"What do you want?" she asked, leaning against the closed door, knowing Jasper would hear her.

"Just let me in, please?"

It was a simple request, for her to allow him into her home, after all, he'd been there before. Yet it could be loaded with so much more meaning if she allowed herself to think about it. Isabella so much wanted her life to be simple, she wanted to live and love and not have to worry about growing too close to people. It would be bad enough if he were human, like if she'd allowed herself to feel anything for Wilf in London. But Jasper wasn't human, he was exactly the thing she should stay far, far away from. So why was she opening the door?

"We're going out," he said, in lieu of a greeting or thanks.

"You suppose so?"

Turning, he flashed a dazzling smile her way. "I know so," he quipped. In his suit and trench coat he could have been a film star, gracing her little flat with his presence. His aura was astounding, and Isabella felt herself getting lost in his smile, but then she looked up, and his blood red eyes reminded her why she should stay away.

"I'm not feeling up to it." She feigned a terribly unbelievable cough.

"Look, I'm going to sit in that chair," he pointed, "and you're going to get dressed, sort your hair out, and we're going out. Got it?"

"Well if you put it like that." She wasn't happy, yet she quite liked his stern tone. He would never force her to go with him, though he very well could if he wanted, but maybe she needed to get out of the flat. Somehow she convinced herself that an afternoon with Jasper would be just what she needed.

As she attempted to salvage the mess that was her hair - in her haze of misery she'd forgotten to re-pin her curls in place, they now hung brown and limp around her sallow face - she suddenly remembered that Jasper was gifted. Her sudden change in mood slipped as realisation set in.

"You implied," she began, as she rolled and pinned her hair. "When we met, that you were gifted. Would you care to explain?"

Jasper sighed, though a smile still pulled his lips. "You already know, you've managed to shut me down."

"Excuse me?"

"I can feel and control other's emotions. You just remembered, and I can no longer manipulate yours, which is odd enough, yet you're applying lipstick, I assume that means you're still coming out with me?"

She nodded as she strode to her wardrobe. After picking out a dress and clean underwear, she disappeared behind her bathroom door. "I'm annoyed with you, but frankly I want out of here and you're offering. That doesn't mean I'm okay with it, and if you do it again I'll find some way to hurt you." Popping her head round the door she caught Jasper's eyes. "Understand?"

"Perfectly."

When Isabella emerged she was dressed in a simple brown dress, cut just below her knees and buttoned from the waist to the collared neckline. After slipping her feet into matching leather heels, she draped her coat around her shoulders and fixed a pillbox hat to her hair, to hide the frizzy curls she was unable to smooth into the roll.

"Off we go then," she said, leading the way from her flat.

Jasper led her to the bus station where they boarded the nine o' clock to Weston Super Mare. "You're taking me to the seaside?"

He smiled knowingly, tiny wrinkles forming in the corners of his eyes. She wondered, not for the first time, how old he was when he was turned. "The way I see it, you need a day to relax, and you English do love your beaches."

Isabella frowned. "You say that a lot - you English - and I know you were born in Texas, but you're accent's...well I can't pin it down. It's rather...transatlantic."

"If that's your way of asking about me, I'll tell you. Yes, I was born in Texas, in the 1830's, but I spent a lot of my life from the 1880's in Europe."

Isabella feigned indifference - he was older than she expected. "I see, very interesting."

"You know," he said, as the bus trundled around bends and over light hills, "I know you like me."

Isabella scoffed. "I tolerate you at best." She was lying, he knew it, and worst of all, she knew it. That didn't stop her turning her head to look through the window and the country passing by. She ignored him for the rest of the journey, and tried to remember what life was like without vampires.

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	8. Chapter 8

I don't often get all...I don't know. But I'm really impressed with this chapter. This was a scene that was in my head from when I first started writing this story, and it turned out just the way I wanted it to.

I really hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to know what you think :)

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 8

by missrebecca

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Weston Super Mare was quiet, for the area, though the bright day had brought some hardy tourists to the seaside resort. Isabella watched from the promenade as children ran in and out of the sea, soaking their shoes and socks but caring not a bit of the cold they were likely to catch. She'd never done that when she was younger, it was far too dangerous for her to get too cold to notice.

The sun was attempting to peak its head through the dismal cloud cover, and as a sharp wind blew through, Isabella laughed along with Jasper as women clambered to keep their skirts down beneath their short jackets. Isabella didn't like a short coat, not that she could afford any of the new fashions, and aside from basic dresses and skirts she was useless with her mother's old Singer.

"Fancy an ice-cream?" Jasper asked as they came to the pier. She nodded and accepted the cone with only a small smile.

They wandered slowly, the air between them silent save a few comments about the people they passed. It was pleasant, and Isabella was tired of how up and down she felt around Jasper. She tried so hard to keep her wits about her, tried to remember that he was dangerous, not because of what he was, but because of who she was to those of his kind; yet with every soft smile, gentle brush of his fingers against hers, every flutter of passion in her stomach and heart, she found herself losing herself. She wished she could be just a normal human being for him, because she imagined she could be quite happy, for the time that they had together.

"Let me read your palm, miss?" A croaking voice made her startle, and Isabella turned to find an old woman standing in the half open doorway of a white wooden shed. She was draped in countless shawls that made her already stooped frame grotesque in its deformity.

"Oh, I don't think so," she replied.

But Jasper wouldn't move; she turned imploring eyes to his. "Go on, live a little," he said, but his smile was tight and Isabella watched as he gaze darted sharply away. Her heart spiked, was someone else close?

Without further argument she stepped into the shed, and paid the shilling that would grant her her fortune.

"Let's see, let's see," the woman murmured, as she pored over Isabella's upturned palm. "Strong lines I see, oh yes. Much love in your life, yet equal pain." Isabella almost tuned her out as she mumbled and prodded at the lines on her hand, she was far more concerned with whatever had had Jasper so worried outside. "The man outside will cause you pain." Isabella's eyes snapped to the woman, whose gaze was distance and her grip, now limp on Isabella's hand.

"Excuse me?"

"He'll cause you much pain."

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Why not tell me something I don't know?"

The woman chuckled, the sound low and sorrowful. "Oh not as you think, he will love you for an eternity, but he will make you suffer and feel such pain that you have never known."

Frowning, Isabella stood on shaky legs. "I think that's enough, thank you."

"Don't try to deny it; people always want what they're running from."

Isabella scoffed, unable to help herself. "Not when they're chasing you with a knife," she quipped.

The old woman's eyes refocused and snapped to Isabella's disbelieving brown eyes. "What fear should you have of a knife?"

As Isabella entered the white shed, Jasper moved further down the pier, to a row of seats occupied by a dark haired woman reading a newspaper. He sat down beside her, pretending to admire the view, waiting for her to speak.

"You're alive then," she said, not looking up from the black and white print.

"Of course, you thought otherwise?"

"You've been vanishing a lot lately; it probably has something to do with that human of yours."

Jasper laughed and turned playful eyes to the woman beside him. "Jealous, Alice?"

Alice smiled and placed the paper down. "Not at all. Scared, yes. How am I supposed to keep this from them when I go back? Aro will know as soon as he touches me. You know the rules."

He rolled his eyes. He'd been trying not to think of his life, of the task he and Alice were undertaking. Life with Isabella was far too interesting for him to think about anything else. "Of course I do. Can't you just, keep it a secret? I mean, he's the one-"

"That's different. This is the law, and it must be upheld. I can't believe I leave you alone for all of two months and you go and find your mate, and you don't turn her on the spot."

"I was interested."

Alice sighed, her friend was going to get hurt, and there was nothing she could do about it. "The rule's there for a reason, so that you don't become attached to one form of them, turn them, and realise that actually they're not what you expect at all."

Jasper shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. "How was Ireland?" he asked, instead.

"Good. They've agreed to help, should the time come. I see this taking a long time though, Jasper."

"How long?"

"Potentially? Seventy years."

Jasper's crimson eyes widened. "That long?"

Alice shrugged. "I don't know why, I can't see that far in advance. There are too many variables."

"I'd hoped this would be over quickly, especially now…"

"Now that you have her." Alice's black eyed gaze drifted off over the wind whipped waves beneath them. "You know...no, never mind."

Jasper nudged her with his elbow. "Go on, what were you going to say?"

"Well it's just, she reminds me of someone." At Jasper's questioning frown, she continued, "Edward's Bella."

"That was over a decade ago."

"Yes, and how old is your girl? Thirty...ish? His Bella was barely seventeen when they were caught."

"But she was killed, surely?" But Alice was already shaking her head.

"No, she got away. Aro was interested, remember? Because of her gift, and there was something else, she didn't scream when she was dragged into the room, she felt no pain at being tossed and slapped around by Felix."

Had Jasper's heart beat it would have been racing. How had he not made the connection before? At Alice's next question he shot from his seat. "What's her name?"

"I have to go," he said, striding off towards where Isabella was now emerging from the fortune tellers hut. "I'll be in touch."

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	9. Chapter 9

The response to the story has properly amazed me. Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed, favourited and alerted this story - it honestly means to the world to me. I've loved seeing what you think is going on in this story, and who the bad guy is and what the whole point of it is. I'd just like to say, there's a lot more going on with this story than you think :)

Starting tomorrow I'm embarking on three weeks of exams, which means I'll have no time for writing. I have the next 5 chapters of this story written, but I'm going to be pacing them out a little, just to give myself some time, once my exams are over, to continue writing this. That way, hopefully, you won't be waiting forever for an update.

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 9

by missrebecca

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Neither Isabella nor Jasper wished to stay by the seaside after their individual encounters, and so found themselves back in Isabella's flat shortly after lunch. Isabella was making herself a cup of tea, keeping her hands busy and eyes away from the vampire sitting in one of her armchairs.

She heard Jasper take in a deep breath before he spoke, as though he was nervous and needed to bolster his courage. "How did you meet Edward?"

The kettle slipped in her grip and suddenly Jasper was beside her, catching the burning hot metal and placing it back on the gas hob, out of reach of Isabella's shaky hands. Her eyes were fearful as they met his. "So you are Bella?" he said.

"You know? Have you always known?" she asked. Her voice was thin, a shade of the strength it was capable of.

"I do, but no. I should have done, I was there when it all happened."

Isabella frowned, time had made the memories fuzzy, but she would always remember Edward's face when he'd decided her fate, would remember the leader, Aro and his pain filled gaze. All other's in the room were but a mirage, red eyes and pale skin that blended into an immense coven of vampires, though she knew there couldn't have been more than ten in the room with her.

"I don't remember seeing you."

Jasper shrugged. "I was in the castle, not in the room. Everything I heard was second hand." Gently he took her by the hand and led her over to sit in her armchair, then moved his to sit close by her. "Can you tell me about that?"

She'd never spoken about her time in Italy, by the time she'd gotten home war was breaking and her broken heart was the least of her worries. And what could she say? No one would have believed her stories. Clearing her throat, she spoke to her clasped hands; she couldn't look at Jasper.

"In 1936, I went to visit some family in Volterra, and while there, exploring, I met Edward. He was...charming. He swept me off my feet. We spent almost a year together, but my time in Italy was coming to an end. Looking back, it was obvious he was trying to end things, but I didn't see it, I was a young girl in love and I didn't think of the end of things.

"We were at a little coffee shop when they found us. Actually, _she_ found us. Her name was Jane, and she did not like me." Isabella didn't look up as she spoke quickly into her hands, as though if she stopped she wouldn't continue. "I don't remember how I ended up in front of Aro, it's all a bit of a blur. They tried to do things to me, tried to hurt me, but they didn't work, and he was interested. Then he gave Edward a choice, to bite me or to kill me. He said he didn't want me to be a vampire."

"Did you want that?"

"No," her answer was immediate. "But I didn't want to die, which was the fate he'd chosen for me, simply because he didn't want to be stuck with me for...eternity or something."

Jasper believed Isabella's assessment of Edward's reasoning to be true. He'd come to know Edward well over the years, and knew that his selfish nature would not allow him to be burdened by one of his human conquests. However, Jasper's knowledge of the events surrounding Isabella's escape from Volterra was almost non-existent, so he asked, "How did you get out?"

Isabella shrugged. "I have no idea. I woke up in an Italian bed and breakfast with a note saying 'I'm sorry'."

"That was it?"

Isabella shook her head and stood to walk to her mantelpiece. From an old oak box she pulled a dog eared piece of paper, and handed it to Jasper to read.

"'They'll come for you, run far and fast and never come back here.' Ominous," he commented.

After shrugging, Isabella looked up into Jasper's red eyes. They were open and showed his confusion and awe. She wasn't sure what to say. For twelve years she'd been running from vampires, had had to relocate three times because they'd found her wherever she'd hid, and now she was sitting in her flat with a vampire at her feet. One who didn't want to kill her, who seemed to have honest feelings for her, and if the fortune teller was to be believed would love her for his whole existence. It was a position she'd never been in, she doubted very much that many people had been in situations similar, and so could do nothing but stare.

When his gaze dropped her heart rate spiked, and she couldn't stop the involuntary moistening of her lips with her tongue. Her fingers tangled together and she stayed perfectly still as Jasper leaned closer to her. She felt no disgust this time, only desire and fear and an insatiable need to simply fall. His lips were oddly soft but unyielding, and she curved into him as he pulled her from her seat to the ground with him. Resting on his knees, her hands buried themselves within his hair, though she had no thought for anything but the feel of his lips on hers.

As he pulled back Isabella felt her heart rate slowing, though the desire still called for her to continue their embrace. She hadn't wanted to fall, had fought it so diligently, yet she had known she would not be able to resist Jasper's pull. His grip on her waist was tight, and the feel of his strong hands sent shivers of pleasure tingling up and down her spine.

"That bloody woman was right," she muttered, looking into Jasper's half-closed eyes, a moment before he could no longer keep his kiss to himself. "I do want what I'm running from."

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	10. Chapter 10

My second exam is tomorrow, the first one went okay...I think, suppose I'll see when I get the results. I've got about up to chapter 14 written, so for the next few weeks I'm going to be posting chapters on a Monday, then after my exams hopefully I'll get into a bit of a quicker updating schedule :)

Hope you like it!

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 10

by missrebecca

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Four days.

Four days in the steadily growing spring sunshine. Four days of kisses, of holding hands and clandestine meetings in crowded public parks. Four days of falling in love and loving every moment of it. Four days to forget her past, to repeat mistakes she'd long ago said she would never make. They were the best four days of her life. But she should have known it would end.

Four days after the day by the seaside, after their first kiss and Isabella surrendered herself to her heart, the Volturi arrived in Bristol.

They manifested in the night; she never saw them coming. One moment she was knocked suddenly from her sleep by her door breaking open, the next she was opening her eyes in a stone walled cell in the hidden palace of Volterra. She had no idea how long she had been incapacitated, and had no idea how. All she knew was her life was over and there was no one to blame but herself.

Isabella was unaware of just how long she spent in her cell. She did not scream, and she did not pace. She sat on the lone chair by the window and unravelled her curls, straightened her nightdress and stared out of the window over the sunlit Italian landscape. She had a feeling it would be the last glimpse of sunlight she would get.

Sometime after midday, or so she assumed judging by the height of the sun, the door of her cell was swung open by a male vampire standing in the doorway. He didn't so much as look at her as he asked her to follow him, the threat of what should happen were she to run was evident in his voice, and so she chose to simply do as he said. There was little else she could do.

Along stone corridors she walked, and from the misting of her breath she had a feeling that she would have been freezing had she been anyone else. The vampire led her into a room she was quite intimate with, to a chair bolted to the ground. She sat and surveyed those around her, as she tried to keep her heart from breaking out of her chest.

The room was massive, high ceilinged and incredibly long. On a dais sat three wooden thrones, occupied by two vampires, one she recognised as Aro, she was unaware of the other dark haired man's name. Then, standing in a semicircle out from the dais, were ten vampires, the same ten she had seen before, including the little blond girl, Jane, who had tried so hard to cause her pain.

A door behind the thrones slammed open and Jasper materialised into the room, Isabella couldn't stop the sudden move she made towards him, and found herself thrown back into the chair by the vampire who had led her from her cell. Jasper looked terrible, his skin was cracked in places and his clothes were ripped, but it was his eyes, feral and pain filled that made her ache. A woman flitted to his side, tiny with black hair, and she spoke quickly into his ear before dragging him off to the side. After him strolled two vampires, a blond haired man Isabella knew to be another of the rulers, who took his place beside Aro, the second was someone Isabella had never wished to see again.

Edward looked just the same as he had twelve years before; pale skin, boyish good looks and hair the colour of a newly minted ha'penny. She wished she had the strength to wipe the crooked smile from his devilishly handsome face.

"Good afternoon, Bella," Aro spoke, causing Isabella's mutinous gaze to spin from her old love to him. "Or shall I call you Isabella, as you seem to be going by now. I must say it is far more adult, but I suppose so are you! You know, I forget how quickly you humans age." His smile was friendly, and Isabella wasn't sure where she stood with him. The last time she was here, it had been obvious that Aro was disappointed with Edward's decision to kill her; she wondered if, seeing as she was still alive, she would manage to escape again.

"You've caused us quite a bit of trouble you know, but at last we've found you. Now, it's been a while since you were here, and I believe last time we gave Edward a choice on what to do with you, as it's been so long, I find I've almost forgotten his decision." A few members of the guard around the dais shifted slightly, as though shocked by their leader's words. "Edward," he called. The red headed vampire moved to stand in front of Isabella, and she barely resisted the urge to kick him. "I'm asking you again. As you were the one who exposed us-"

"Actually, you did that all on your own," Isabella said, finding her voice at last. The sound of stone on skin was heard as her guard slapped her round the face; she tasted blood in her mouth but only smiled up into his black eyes. "Don't you remember? That won't work on me."

"Yes, Felix, leave her alone. You're right; of course, you claimed to know nothing of us before we brought you here." He sent a scathing look towards Jane, who only held her head higher in retaliation. "But still, we'll stick to form. Edward?"

"I believe she should be bitten, it would be a shame if her obvious talents went to waste." His voice was wooden, as though reciting a speech he had rehearsed, before he slunk off to the side.

"Excellent," Aro gushed. There was a moment of silent, and Isabella wondered what they were waiting for.

"Well get on with it then," the blond haired man at Aro's side spoke up. As Isabella was watching him, and the interaction between him and Aro, she missed the frantic look Edward sent towards the small black haired woman at Jasper's side.

"Aro," she began.

"Yes, Alice?" Aro said.

"Don't you think it would be better if someone more experienced turned her? After all Edward has very little control."

"Of course, you're right, who would you suggest?"

"Well, Jasper's turned over fifty vampires in his lifetime, and since he was the one to find her..."

"Of course, see to it then."

Isabella couldn't stop her gaze from drifting between the speakers. It was as though she were watching a finely orchestrated play, which no one but the players knew they were involved in. She had a feeling she had fallen into something far more complicated than simply a human knowing of the existence of vampires.

She was broken from her thoughts as Jasper gently took her hand in his, and led her away from the main room, down further corridors and into what she assumed were his private chambers. There were posters of plays and films on the walls, a large sheepskin rug on the floor, and a large writing desk, littered with papers.

"What's going on?" she asked.

Gently he tugged her to sit beside him on an ottoman that badly needed reupholstering; Isabella fingered the fraying fabric as Jasper spoke. "Alice came to see me a few days ago, and she saw us together. There was no way she could hide it from Aro, so we came up with a plan, well, they did, to get you here and to keep you safe. The problem is...the problem is I can't stay with you."

"What?"

"I have to...turn you into a vampire, but then I can't stay. It's too dangerous if I do."

Isabella frowned, she was missing something huge, she knew, and she hated feeling so left out. "I don't understand - you're leaving me here?"

"Yes." He was smoothing his fingers along the back of her hand, Isabella could see the marks he was leaving in her skin, but felt nothing but a faint pressure upon her skin. "It'll be hard. But we'll have forever, and that's all I'm thinking about."

Isabella felt herself smiling, despite her apparently dire situation. "You want me for forever?" It was a juvenile thought, selfish in fact, but it seemed to be the only thing registering in her mind.

Jasper couldn't stop himself from smiling and rolling his eyes. "Of course. When you're like me, you'll know."

"Well," she said, grasping tight to his hand in both of hers. "I suppose we should get on with it, yes?" Swallowing heavily, he nodded. "What's wrong?"

"The transition from human to vampire is extremely painful; I don't want to do that do you."

"Well it doesn't seem like we have a choice, do we? Plus, I can't feel pain, it'll be fine."

Smiling, Jasper leaned in close and spoke quietly, for Isabella's ears only. "Have I ever told you, how amazing you are?"

She shrugged. "You might have."

They shared one final smile, before Jasper leaned over her, bared his razor sharp teeth, and sliced through the soft skin of her neck.

There was pressure, and a shot of pleasure unlike anything Isabella had felt. She gripped tight to Jasper's shoulders, pulling him tighter and closer to her. When all of a sudden there was a feeling unlike anything she had felt, it was a feeling she was unable to describe, but it caused a scream to rip its way from her throat. In the moment before her world went black, she realised what it was, the burning, tearing feeling throughout her whole body; it was pain.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	11. Chapter 11

This is just a short one, so I'm putting it out a bit earlier :) A lot of you are confused at the moment, but believe me when I say that there's a lot going on in this story that hasn't been revealed yet. It will all come clear :) promise.

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 11

by missrebecca

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During Isabella's lifetime, she'd heard many words used to describe the many manifestations of pain. During the three days of her confinement she discovered each and every one of them.

Her body burned with a fire unquenchable, as her flesh was rendered from fracturing bones. Her body twisted and writhed as she screamed and wailed, until her vocal chords tore and snapped. Each second felt like a lifetime in the agony of the spreading fire. Wave after wave of searing heat and agonising pain.

In her adolescence she had hated her body for its lack of sensitivity, wished she could hurt and feel as other children did. But through her silent screams, she'd have given anything for the blissful numbness of her previous life.

There were moments of lucidity, when her mind conjured scenes from her life played out as if on a silver screen. Delivering lambs with her father, meeting Edward and her broken heart, discovering the bodies of her parent's, crushed during a trip into the big town by German bombs, and Jasper. Mostly she saw him.

His red eyes, frightening and yet calming all at once. And his smile, that was infectious right from the moment they met. During the lulls in this new pain, she imagined his voice, whispering stories in her ear. There were reprimands also, warnings for what would happen if she didn't wake up. Hearing his voice, even if it was only in her mind, and his sarcastic mutterings, she could almost manage a smile. But then the pain came back and all was lost to darkness.

During the last moments of her life, as her heart beat so quickly, as though it knew it's beats were numbered, her memories shifted to those when she was younger. She replayed her time in Italy with Edward. The butterflies in her stomach, how he had eased the immense loneliness she'd felt in the strange city. She remembered him giving her flowers and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Then she remembered the room. Strapped into that chair and accused of knowledge she did not have. She remembered being dragged by her hair, and being sure that her scalp would tear off. How confused they'd been when she didn't scream out as Felix had struck her, or when Jane's little gift hadn't worked. But then, those memories, too, were obscured by the darkness of pain.

It seemed as though the darkness would never end, until finally the pain receded. There was numbness in her extremities, and as stillness like nothing she'd ever felt settled over her body, she opened her eyes.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	12. Chapter 12

Thank you all so much for your support on this story. I'm having so much fun writing it and get so excited for you all to read it! It's so hard not just publishing everything I have written so far all at once xD.

I have two more exams! I'm half way through and I'm so looking forward to the end of this.

I know some of you aren't going to like the next few chapters, and I know a lot of you have some ideas of what's going on...I hate to say that you're all wrong...but... haha.

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 12

by missrebecca

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The room was dark as Isabella opened her eyes and sat up. The walls were stone, the posters on the wall strangely familiar. Her fingers stroked the tattered velvet beneath her, creating more holes in the already ruined upholstery. With a suddenness that shocked her, her gaze flicked to the world beyond the window, where she could hear a night bird singing, before swinging back to the candle flickering on the desk. Her movements were erratic, surprising and almost painful. It seemed her attention would not rest, until a voice from the doorway broke through.

"The confusion will settle, eventually." The man who spoke was barely more than a boy, and he lounged as though without a care against the closed door.

A name pushed against her tongue. "Edward?"

The boy nodded and strolled into the candlelight, so Isabella could clearly see his bright red hair. With him came memories, blurred by pain and heartache, of laughter and sunlight, clandestine kisses and more in the shade, but there was also betrayal, pain and an agonising feeling of loss. With a speed that startled her she was across the room with her fingers locked tight around his neck.

He squirmed, but managed to easily remove her hands, all the while keeping a pleasant, if not a little patronising smile on his face.

"I see you remember me."

"What are you doing here?" she growled. Her voice was unrecognisable, as was the anger that coiled in her gut.

"And where is here, exactly?" he replied.

Suddenly, Isabella stopped struggling against Edward's grip as she realised she couldn't piece together the jigsaw that was her memories to find out what had happened to her.

"Good." Slowly, Edward pulled Isabella back to the ottoman she'd awoken on and sat down beside her, while keeping a tight grip on her wrists. "Now, what do you remember?"

"I don't know." As she gazed at the stone wall, watching as a spider crept out of his hole only to disappear into another, she tried to remember what had happened in the days before the pain began. Slowly she remembered Bristol; her job in the café, boiling coffee and almost kisses. But there was something missing, a face without a name, that left a wave of longing surging through her. "I don't know," she repeated.

Edward's brows were furrowed, but his smile remained. "Well, no matter. Come, Aro wants to see you."

Without comment, Isabella followed Edward from the room and through familiar stone corridors to a large hall. She was unsure how she'd come to be in Volterra, but of course she knew just where she was. She tried again to remember where she'd been before the pain began, yet all she could remember now was her dingy east end flat, and Wilf, the barman where she worked. Had they taken her so fast that she simply hadn't had time to notice?

"Ah, Bella," Aro, his pale skin looking far more delicate than it did the last time she'd seen him a decade previous, said as he arose from his throne. Coming to stand before her, he grasped on to her hand. "Nothing, excellent. And I assume you feel nothing from her either?" he spoke to Edward over her head, and she barely resisted rolling her eyes. "Fabulous. Jane, Alec." A blonde haired girl who was frighteningly familiar came forward, along with a dark haired boy. They both had the same dark eyes that looked at her with fierce concentration, that turned to confusion and anger as they realised their gifts would not work on her. "Fascinating, Alec nothing at all?" The dark haired boy shook his head. "Wonderful! Edward, take her to Eleazar."

Edward gripped on to Isabella's elbow, before she'd managed to get her head around what had just happened. Yet she refused to ask Edward, she hated being so close to him, and certainly would ask nothing of him. She lost track of the way they went, until they came to a solid oak door, held to the wall by horribly rusted hinges. Stepping through, Isabella entered into a candle lit room, with a robed figure sitting on an armchair in the centre.

"Edward," the figure spoke, "I see you've brought someone new?"

The figure moved forward, revealing a dark haired man, with high cheekbones and a pointed chin, but it was to his milky white eyes that Isabella's gaze was drawn. "You can go, Edward," he said. Isabella didn't turn to see her old lover leave.

"Now, what's your name?" Eleazar asked.

"Isabella."

"Sit down, girl. You're making the room look untidy." Isabella smiled then sat in a matching chair in front of him. When he shifted forward, their knees almost touched. "I'm sure you're very confused, so I'll cut to the chase. When I was human, I was born blind, when I was turned, my sight did not return, instead a new sight was gifted to me. I have the ability to determine whether a vampire is gifted, and what that particular gift entails. By now I'm sure you've realised that you possess something...unique."

Isabella nodded, then, realising that he couldn't see her, spoke her confirmation out loud. "Excellent. Now, can you tell me about yourself when you were a human. Did you have any special talents, anything that was in some way, peculiar?"

There was one thing. Her human memories were solidifying in her mind, the more she thought of them, and she knew that if she was gifted, there was one thing that would be pertinent. "I couldn't feel pain."

Eleazar frowned. "At all?"

"Not at all."

For a moment he sat back in his chair, mulling over this new information. "I wonder…" Slowly he leaned forward and held his hand out for her, with some trepidation Isabella placed her hand into his. "I apologise," he said, right before breaking her right index finger clean off at the knuckle. She felt nothing.

Eleazar barked out a laugh. "Well! That should have at least made you flinch. Vampires feel pain differently to humans, it takes a lot to get us to the point of agony, but loss of a limb generally does it. Here." Quickly he pressed the joint back together, and Isabella watched, fascinated, as her new skin reformed itself. "That might explain your gift."

"What is it?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"You, my dear, have some sort of defensive ability. It shields both your mind and body against other vampire's offensive powers; like Edward and Aro's mind reading, Jane's torture and Alec's numbness. Now, when you were a human, I believe Alec's gift worked on you, would that be correct?"

"I'm not sure, what does it do?"

"To vampires, it causes complete sensory deprivation. You can't see, hear or smell anything. To a human, it would completely black out your consciousness."

Isabella remembered blanks in her memories, of waking up in a hotel after being in Volterra and having no memory of getting there. Plus the great blank surrounding her arrival now, she imagined Alec had something to do with that. "Then yes, when I was human, he could definitely affect me."

"Of course now, you're entirely impervious to it. Just fascinating. Now, many vampires with gifts like yours are able to control it somewhat, encase other people in the same protection. I would also expect there to be some sort of physical aspect, too, I would suggest that is what you work on during training."

Isabella frowned. "Training?"

Eleazar smile was sad. "You're so new here. Edward will explain everything."

At that moment, the red headed vampire strolled back through the door, and Isabella wondered if he'd been listening the whole time. Though of what she remembered of vampire's superior hearing, and what she now knew from first-hand experience, she imagined he couldn't help but overhear. After thanking Eleazar she followed Edward through now familiar corridors, down three flights of stairs to an enormous wine cellar. Inside were around ten vampires, dressed in loose fitting black cotton, fighting each other. Isabella jumped as a body was thrown across the room by her face, and jumped again as it got off the floor, one arm missing and charged at its opponent.

"What is this?" she asked, keeping her voice down.

"The Volturi are the judge, jury and executioner to the vampire race. We keep the peace and ensure that our laws are upheld, the Volturi guard," he gestured to the vampires in the room, "are the elite who carry out Aro, Caius and Marcus' orders, or go out into the world to collect wrong doers. They must be in peak fighting form. Aro would like for you to be trained similarly, he wants you to expand your gift, and potentially become a member of the guard."

"Potentially? And if I don't?"

Edward smirked, it was unpleasant, but Isabella could see something else playing behind his eyes. "If you don't, it's because you're already dead."

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	13. Chapter 13

Another one! I'm thinking there's going to be about 25 chapters in this story...from where I'm at at the moment anyway.

Last exam on Tuesday :D yaaaaaaaay!

Hope you have a lovely long weekend :)

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 13

by missrebecca

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Time ceased to mean anything the longer Isabella spent confined within the Volturi castle walls. As a creature unable to sleep, morning and night held no significance. Hours blended into days, into weeks and months.

For the most part, she stayed in the training room, attempting to strengthen the defensive gift she apparently possessed. Within her first month, which passed without her realising, she had managed to protect two other members of the guard - Chelsea and Dimitri - from Jane's offensive strength. After the success, accomplished four weeks after her transformation, she finally left the training room, and fed for the first time.

It was something she'd tried not to give too much thought to. When she was human, the vampires she'd known had wanted to kill her, not feed from her, and so it was never something she'd had to worry about. She followed Chelsea into a small chamber, with no windows and only a single door in, with sloping floors to a metal grate in the centre of the room. The entire room smelled metallic, and she realised that it was blood.

The humans were led single file by Heidi, and Isabella was struck by how lazy the whole process was. Some of the victims looked frightened, but most seemed only fascinated, until the door locked behind them and the blood bath began.

She found a strange satisfaction in the screams that reverberated from the walls, and she wondered when she had become so callous as to not care about those like she used to be. But the fear and the anguish she had been keeping locked away since she'd arrived in Italy presented itself as rage and dominance in the face of her victim's pain. All that was left was guilt as the cadavers dropped by her feet.

When they had finished; the bodies carted off for incineration, the blood circling down the drain, Isabella didn't want to go back to the cellars. Instead she wandered down unknown corridors, until she entered those not lit by the usual torches. There was a feeling of decay as she wandered, avoiding spider webs and disturbing dust as she went. She was about to turn back when the sound of voices made her pause. Silently, she crept towards them until she could just make out their words. They were voices she recognised, and she wondered why they spoke aloud at all.

"Where are they now?" Aro asked.

"The Americas," Edward replied.

There was a pause. "Why?"

"There are many other covens there, those who are unaware of this growing...problem. There are also other creatures living in remote tribes."

"Creatures?"

"Shape shifters. At will they are able to transform into enormous beasts. Alice believes they are our only chance against the wolves."

"I see. And how long?"

"A decade, maybe longer. They need to win over these people. Their whole existence is geared towards the eradication of vampires, and the transformations are often catalysed by a vampiric presence in the area."

"Good, well at least they're doing their job. I'd worried about Jasper's resolve af…" The rest of Aro's words are lost as that name, Jasper, sparked something in Isabella's memory. The mystery face, blond hair, handsome smirk, piercing eyes, all materialised around that name. But who was he?

"Yes, well, threatening the girl gave him enough motivation."

"I hadn't wanted to do that, I almost wish he hadn't come across her, let alone fallen in love with her." Aro sighed, and Isabella heard a creak, as though he had sat down. "How is she progressing by the way?"

"Quite well, she has managed to disrupt Jane's gift from two other people, close range. She has yet to enter into any real combat."

Isabella quenched a gasp; they were talking about her.

"Keep her with Chelsea and Dimitri, those we know we can trust. Keep Isabella away from Jane, as much as you can. I want her alive."

Edward sighed. "If you single her out, he'll want her for his cause."

"Don't you think I know that? Give her time; she'll hear the whispers eventually. If she's clever, she'll know which side to choose. If not, we kill her."

Isabella bolted back the way she had come as fast as she could, ignoring the shouts and odd looks sent her way. She ran to the room she had awoken in, she wasn't sure what it was, but there was a scent, a feeling about the place that made her calm. After locking the door and shuttering the window, she curled into a ball as far from the door as she could manage.

She was unsure of this place she had ended up in, but she knew that, as long as she stayed, she wasn't safe.

As dawn broke, Isabella watched her steps through the castle. She did not return to the training room, choosing instead to explore this new place she'd found herself in. Aro's words from the night before cycled through her mind. She'd been afraid of the Volturi for so much of her human life, when she'd been caught, she'd almost resigned herself to the death that awaited her, and yet here she was, saved, if not a little changed.

Her goal over the last decade had simply been surviving. Running for her life and trying to be happy wherever she'd ended up. Now she'd been caught, and apparently was stuck inside this place, she was unsure what to do with herself.

Stopping on a set of steep wooden steps set into the castle walls, she leaned out of a glassless window to see the courtyard below. Roses grew in the sunlight, and birds chirped, hidden from sight. Leaning out further, she allowed the sun to alight on her face, and she was glad that the myth of vampires in the sun was simply that, a myth. Suddenly she was thrust out of the window and almost lost her grip, she let out an exclamation as the person who had pushed her laughed and pulled her back.

Isabella turned, and slapped her attacker round the face. Edward only smiled.

"What do you want?" she asked, already sick of being near him.

Edward shrugged. "I followed you, thought I'd make you jump."

"Well you succeeded, well done. Was that all?"

"I wanted to talk to you, see how you're getting on here."

"Still alive, as you can see."

Edward was silent a moment, and Isabella's gaze drifted, wondering when it would be polite to leave. "You don't like me very much do you?"

"Edward, you made me fall in love with you, and then sentenced me to death because you didn't want to be stuck with me for eternity. Why would I like you?"

"I didn't sentence you to death-"

"Aro gave you the choice." Standing before him, the emotions she'd held as a young woman in love spiralled within her, and she found she was angrier than she'd ever been. "You chose to have me killed. You have no defence that I'll accept."

"You were so young. I know what it means to be stuck forever in the body of an adolescent. I didn't want that for you. I'll admit that no, I didn't want to be responsible for you, but I also didn't want to condemn you to this life."

Isabella's laugh was hollow, disbelieving. "So you chose to take it away instead? I was in love with you; do you understand what that means?"

"You never would have died; there are things you're unaware of. Aro wanted you, and always intended to get you out. And yes, I know what it means. I did love you, I still do."

"You love me?"

"Yes." His face was open, honest, but Isabella knew how well vampires could hide behind a façade.

"Not like Chelsea and Dimitri though?"

"Of course not." A slow smile spread across his face as he took a step closer to her, pressing her into the stone wall. "But you know, we don't have to be mates to...enjoy one another."

"Are you honestly propositioning me for sex?" There was a feeling stirring within her, brought on by Edward's lusty eyes and the hand he was running along her waist.

"Why not? Eternity is a long time, and there isn't an awful lot to do in this castle. Plus, it's not like we haven't done it before."

For a second, Isabella allowed her gaze to drop to Edward's pink lips, she remembered how his lips had felt against hers, how their bodies had moved so in tune when she had been younger. But then she remembered who he was, how he had tricked her into loving him, before breaking her heart and leaving her to be chased over Europe.

Leaning in close, Isabella parted her lips. "If you think, for even a second, that some pretty eyes and flirty words are going to make me fall back into your bed, you are sorely mistaken. You make me sick."

Shoving Edward back by his shoulders, Isabella strode on up the wooden steps, ignoring Edward's call of, "You'll change your mind eventually."

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	14. Chapter 14

Guess what? My exams are over, yaaaay! :D

I managed to get this finished, sorry it's taken like a week, I was hoping to have it up much earlier. But I'm glad I wrote it, because there definitely needed to be another chapter between the last one and the next one.

I hope you like it :)

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 14

by missrebecca

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"No! No, no, no, no, no," Isabella chanted as Dimitri flew through the air towards her before crashing into her, sending them both sliding across the training room floor, where they slammed into the wall, sending brick dust flying into the air.

Dimitri was laughing, as was Chelsea, but Isabella felt only embarrassed. She could see the members of the guard laughing at her, rolling their eyes when they thought she wasn't looking. Her shield had come on leaps and bounds, but her combat skills were still severely lacking. She could just barely rebuff attacks, but it seemed she simply lacked the strength to catch a thrown vampire, like most of the others were able to do.

"You'll get it," Chelsea said as she gripped Isabella's hand and pulled her to her feet.

"I feel like I should be better at this," she grumbled as she dusted off her standard issue trousers.

Isabella had been a vampire for going on five years, but she felt as though she still wasn't used to it. The strength and the speed had come naturally, but it was the lack of the sleep, the blending of days that she simply couldn't work her mind around. The idea of forever, in the same body with the same mind just didn't seem possible.

"Isabella," Edward spoke from the arches doorway, calling her over to his side. Edward hadn't propositioned her again, but she saw the looks he sent her way, and she ignored them every time. The fact was, she wouldn't have minded a little intimacy, Edward had been right, it did get lonely in the castle. But whenever she considered it, there was something holding her back, she felt that somehow her heart belonged to another. Though who that other was, she had no idea.

"Yes?"

"Aro would like for you to begin work on the physical aspect of your shield."

Isabella was quiet a moment. She remembered Eleazar's suggestion that her shield might be more than simply mental, but she'd never had any indication that it would be. "But we don't even know if I have a physical aspect."

"Which is exactly why Aro would like for you to work on it."

Though she sighed she nodded. "And how do I go about doing that?"

"I would suggest that you continue to work with Chelsea and Dimitri, speak to Alec, too."

He looked at her as though that was all he was going to say on the matter, but yet he still stood in the doorway. "Was that all?" she asked. He nodded. "What, you're going to watch?"

"Of course."

She huffed as she turned back to the corner she'd been training in with Chelsea. Alec had joined Dimitri, and stood looking so small besides the towering behemoth that was the Russian. "Did you hear that?" The trio nodded. "Any ideas?"

"I have a few," Alec said. He was put forth as Jane's brother, and in the public eye they were often seen together, but within the privacy of the castle it was a very different story; they couldn't stand one another. "Tell me, what does it feel like, when you protect someone else's mind?"

Isabella thought for a moment. "I don't know how to describe it. It's like...like an elastic band or something, like I stretch it out from my mind over them and it snaps around their mine. We're not connected, they have an independent shield."

"I see, so there's no spread, it's individualised?"

Chelsea nodded. "I stood between Isabella and Dimitri, and she shielded him, but not me. It's very selective."

Alec was quiet a moment. "Interesting. I would suggest visualising that...as you say, elastic band, try and push it away from yourself, and transform it in your mind, to a stone wall."

"A stone wall?"

He nodded, "Or something equally impenetrable."

Isabella closed her eyes and tried to imagine the band that seemed to exist around her mind. But she could feel the eyes in the room zoning in on her, could imagine the other vampires glancing her way when they should be focusing on fights of their own. She couldn't stop the hairs standing up on the back of her neck, couldn't close her mind enough to do what she was trying to.

Sighing she opened her eyes. "How do you know this?" she asked.

"When my gift first presented itself, it was only effective through touch, and I couldn't turn it off. So long as I touched someone, they lost the use of their senses. Over the years I learned to recognise my gift, and was able to transform it until it acted like smoke, as a mist that enveloped others."

"Was it hard?"

Alec smiled and nodded. "Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Just try to clear your mind."

Taking a deep breath in, she did just that. She concentrated on the tranquillity she found in the castle gardens, the silence and the peace. She blocked out the noise of the other vampires in the room, and concentrated on her breathing. Finally, she felt the snap of her shield. It seemed so obvious to her in these times, and she often wondered how she could have ever not known it was there. Concentrated she pushed it out, as though she was going to encase someone else's mind in her protection. With great effort she imagined it hovering, like a golden disk around her mind, and then imagined it stretching, becoming as a bubble to encase her whole being. Except it was made of stone; impenetrable as vampire skin.

When she opened her eyes, she knew that something had changed, she could feel it; but she had little faith that anything could work.

"How do you think this is going to work?" Chelsea asked.

Alec shrugged. "If we assume it to be like Renata, then technically, nothing should be able to get near her."

"Great," Chelsea chirped. "Dimitri!"

"I'm here, _milacik_," he murmured, planting a kiss on her brow, before allowing her to grab him by the arm and knee. Chelsea gestured for Isabella to move back, before throwing her lover straight for her.

Isabella attempted to brace herself; she concentrated on her shield, and on the idea that there was no way Dimitri was going to hit her. The impact of Dimitri against her sent them sprawling across the training room floor.

Edward marched towards her. "That was appalling, were you trying at all?"

Isabella barely resisted the urge to snarl her reply, "Yes. But I know he won't hurt me. None of you can. Frankly, there's no incentive."

His eyes narrowed as his thoughts whirled. When he looked around the training room, and his gaze stopped, it was obvious he had come to a decision, and that she wasn't going to like it. "Jane!" he snapped.

The small blonde came trotting over, though she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else. Alec bowed his goodbyes and left, without sparing Jane a single glance. Isabella was worried. She remembered Aro's instructions to Edward, about keeping her away from Jane. For whatever reason, he didn't trust her, and honestly, neither did Isabella. "You bellowed?" she asked.

"Yes. Isabella is in need of some incentive. Please try your best to kill her." Isabella's mouth stood wide. He couldn't be serious.

"Edward, a word?" Ignoring the looks sent their way; she took him back the arm and led him into the far corner of the room. "You want her to kill me?"

Shaking his head he removed his arm from her grasp. "No, but you need incentive, and I feel the imminent threat of death is often a good one."

She was quiet as she looked at him, into those eyes she'd once loved. "Is this some sort of...I don't know, revenge, because I turned you down?"

Edward smirked, all arrogant and self-assured. "Don't be ludicrous. You'll come back to me eventually, so long as you survive today." Then he strode away, back to where Jane and Chelsea were swiftly squaring off to one another.

When Isabella stepped into the middle of the room, she tried to centre herself, tried to remember all the lessons that Dimitri had been trying to teach her, about control and getting the upper hand. But Jane was over a thousand years old, she was sly and quick and deceptively strong. Isabella just hoped that they wouldn't actually allow Jane to kill her. She found her shield still strong, even though she'd been so distracted; she hoped it would be enough.

Jane came at her like lightning, moving fast even for vampire standards, and Isabella found herself rebuffing attacks every which way. Yet she was holding her own. A well timed kick sent Jane sprawling on her back, and suddenly Isabella thought perhaps that she could win this fight. It was that thought, however, that was her undoing. Before she could prepare herself for the return assault, she was on her back, knees pinned by Jane's as the young girl's hands were around her neck.

There was no pain, but Isabella could hear her skin cracking, fracturing like stone, her vision tunnelled.

"Listen, you little bitch. You think you're special because Edward fancies you, because Aro saved you, and everyone walks on eggshells. Well not me. You're nothing here, and if I could I would kill you right now. Watch your back." Jane's voice was acid, so incongruous with her child's visage that Isabella was rocked. The last thing she saw was Jane's smile, so sweet below such crazed eyes, before the world went black.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	15. Chapter 15

I'm starting to catch up to myself. I'm about halfway through writing chapter 18, but I'm hoping to get some writing done over the next few days :)

Thank you very much to everyone who's reviewed and favourited and such, it really means the world :D

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 15

by missrebecca

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After the mishap in the training room, when Isabella's head was removed and swiftly reattached by a frantic Edward, she was carefully watched at all times. Jane was punished, by being sent on a mission overseas, though from the smile she'd worn as she'd left, Isabella had a feeling it was exactly what she'd wanted. There was no more progress with her shield, though she was now able to shield multiple people at once from Alec's mind numbing gift, the physical aspect seemed lost to her.

It was around the tenth anniversary of her transformation that Aro finally deigned to speak to her. He found her outside the training room, as she exited with Chelsea, laughing about how Isabella had finally managed to rip Dimitri's arm from his shoulder.

"Isabella, a word if you will?" Chelsea squeezed Isabella's elbow and gave her a small smile before walking off with Dimitri, leaving Isabella alone with Aro.

"Can I help you?" she said. She was unsure how he should be addressed. He was the self-proclaimed leader of the Volturi, and in all the time she'd been in Italy, he'd spoken to her only once when she was first changed. However, she would never forget the threat he laid against her to Edward. She had kept her ear to the ground, for whispers and rumours, but she'd heard nothing.

"I hope so. If you'll follow me?" He gave her no time to reply before he took off away from her. "You've come a long way since you arrived," he commented as they walked, to which Isabella nodded. "There's a reason I saved you all those years ago, why I allowed you to escape, it's because I knew you'd be of use to me one day."

Though she frowned she said nothing as she waited for Aro to continue. "I'm in need of a new shield."

"What about Renata?"

"Unfortunately, I can no longer trust her. She is being sent, with Anton, away for a while. Thus we need a new tenth member, I'm hoping that will be you. Do I have it right that you are able to protect me from afar?"

"Yes, though I can't protect you physically, and I'm not a member of the guard." While she may have spent all her time in the training room, she knew it took longer than ten years to become a guard member.

"You are now." They stopped and Isabella realised he'd led her to her room. "Be in the receiving hall by sun down, we're expecting guests."

Left alone, she thought over what being a guard member would mean. She could finally leave the castle confines, explore the town and breathe the fresh air. Except that by being Aro's protection, that would never happen, she would never be allowed to stray too far, would she? But then, by being so close to the central players maybe she would finally learn just what's going on within the Volturi.

Later that evening, Isabella took her place next to Chelsea in front of the dais. She was dressed in black trousers and a matching shirt, as they did not wear the robes within the castle walls. Concentrating hard, she spread her shield to include the Volturi leader, just as the doors opened.

A lone vampire was led in. She had deep black hair and a slightly olive tone to her deathly pale flesh. Her head was held high; even though it was obvious she had seen much better days. Felix and Santiago led her, holding an arm each and from the cracks showing on her arms it was obvious their grip was painful.

Aro stood and addressed the woman in Spanish. It was a language, along with Italian, French and German that Isabella had come to know during her time in the castle. "Maria Hernandez, you are charged with causing discourse in the Southern Americas, of consorting with werewolves, and being too conspicuous to keep our existence hidden. The punishment for this is death. What say you of these charges?"

Maria smiled, though her eyes showed her fear. "It's all true, so kill me, but don't think it'll stop. If you wish to know the mastermind, look to your le-" With barely a signal from Caius, Felix ripped Maria's head from her shoulders, leaving her face frozen in speech. Isabella barely managed to restrain her flinch. She knew that feeling of being disconnected, when she'd woken up after being put back together she'd felt so violently ill she'd had to lay down for almost two whole days. Maria's head was dropped without ceremony into a burning fire pit by Felix's right hand side.

With the removal of the body, the guard were dismissed, and Isabella headed up through the castle to the roof top of one of the towers. It rose above the walled city, sitting higher than the clock tower. But she knew she would be okay so high, none of the humans ever really looked up. Lying in the Italian sun, she wondered what Maria had been about to say, obviously she was working for someone, and she wondered if these were the whispers Aro had meant. More than anything she wished she could remember where she'd been before being brought to the Volturi, before being turned into a vampire. After so many years asking Edward, and being ignored, she'd simply stopped asking. But it was something that plagued her mind.

She felt like something was missing in her life, as though something had been stolen. Yet, she couldn't work out what it was. Though she had been afraid of the Volturi for so long, afraid of being killed or worse, she'd found that life in the castle was...nice. She was settled for once, and she had managed to make some friends in Chelsea and Dimitri. She imagined that the thing she found herself yearning for was simply her lost humanity.

As the sun set, she climbed back down into the castle, determined to put her troubles far from her mind.

"Where have you been?" Edward asked. He was standing at the bottom of the step ladder, hands clinging to one of the rungs.

Isabella frowned. "You know exactly where I've been, that's why you're waiting for me, isn't it?"

"You've caught me," he said, smiling.

Isabella turned to walk in the direction of the library. It was on the other side of the castle, so she knew she was going to have to put up with Edward for longer than she'd like. Over the years she had managed to find a sort of clarity over what he had done to her when she was human. She would never forgive him, the hurt ran too deep, and while he never fully explained why he had pursued her, she could at least accept that it had been a long time ago and maybe some things should be left in the past.

"So...did you want something?" she asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after what happened in there." He gestured in the direction of the receiving room. "It was all a bit sudden."

"Yes, it was. But I'm okay. She broke the rules. Judgement was swift."

Edward was silent as he looked at her, but Isabella just kept looking straight ahead. "I wonder, have you thought anymore about what I offered you before, about you and me?"

Isabella laughed, she couldn't help it. "You mean your offer of casual sex? No, I haven't."

"You're lying." Edward smirked.

She smiled and sighed, cocking her hip and leaning against the library's door frame. "You think?"

"I know." He leaned into her, like he had years before. Both hands on her hips, and smirk firmly in place. Isabella couldn't help but be charmed. Yet there was still that tugging, that emptiness when she looked at him. There was something missing. There was sexual attraction, which she imagined she could fall in to if she allowed herself, but she couldn't.

"I can see those gears working in your mind. Just fall into it, Bella."

Closing her eyes, she pushed away, putting some space between herself and Edward. "Don't call me that. Only you ever called me that, no one before, and no one since. Don't do it again."

"What's holding you back?" he asked. It was a straightforward question, but Isabella was sure there was something he was hiding; it was as though he already knew what was holding her back, even if she didn't.

"I don't know. I'm sorry." And she meant it.

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_Let me know what you think!_


	16. Chapter 16

Here's another chapter! I've had next to no time to write lately, what with trying to move out of my flat (oh my God it's taking forever!). So I only have the next two chapter written, but I'm hoping to get a ton done over the next couple of days to push it on.

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 16

by missrebecca

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"Have you seen this?" Chelsea asked. She was sitting cross-legged in front of Isabella in an empty room they'd found in the bowels of the castle, her long hair was piled atop her head, as she looked at the object in her hand.

"Yes, I see it."

"How amazing is it?" Isabella laughed but agreed. Chelsea was holding up a device, about the size of a small brick. It was made of white plastic and was being advertised as a revolution of modern technology.

"I wish we'd have had these years ago, it would have saved me so much time!"

"I'm not sure. I mean, I quite like sending letters. And what's wrong with wired phones?"

Chelsea sighed. "Look, we only just got electricity into this stupid castle twenty years ago, and now I have wireless communication? This is amazing! I can phone Dimitri when he's out on missions."

Isabella eyed the bulky instrument called a mobile phone in Chelsea's hand. "It's not exactly discrete though, is it?"

"Who cares? I love it."

The women laughed, their glee ricocheting from the stone walls around them. Isabella flopped back to the floor with a bang, her dark hair a spiral of curls around her as she stared up at the cobwebbed ceiling.

"What's going on in this place?" she finally asked.

"What do you mean?" Chelsea replied, not looking up from where she was prodding the numbers on the phone.

"I don't know. I've been here a while now, and I've noticed some things. The brother's don't get along as well as they'd like people to think, do they? Specifically Caius and Aro."

Rocking back, Chelsea tipped her head to the ceiling and dropped the phone to the floor. "No, they don't. Aro used to use me to keep the guard together, but about...a century ago, maybe less, he asked me to stop. I thought Marcus would leave, what with what Aro did-"

"What did Aro do?"

Chelsea sighed. "Aro killed Marcus' mate. It was a long time ago, longer than you can imagine. We were new, fresh from a war, a revolution. Didyme...she was amazing, but she was also...she wasn't in line with the Volturi's vision, and back then, if you weren't with us, you were against us. Aro didn't know they were mates until after. Marcus has been a shell since."

"But he hasn't gone anywhere."

"No, he has not. I don't know why. Anyway, I'm not really sure what's going on. Me and Demitiri have talked about it, but we can't work it out. Something's going on, something that's divided Caius and Aro, I wish I knew what."

They were silent a moment, as Isabella thought over what she was about to say. "Aro's asked to see me. Tonight. Says he has something I can do for him."

The muscles around Chelsea's jaw clenched before she spoke. "People who do favours for Aro don't end up living very long."

Isabella said nothing. Since becoming part of the guard so many years before, she'd been asked to do very little for the Volturi leader. She'd left the castle occasionally, to explore the Italian landscape, but never any further. Her life had been simple, if not a little repetitive, so when Aro asked to see her, stating he had a favour to ask of her, she was excited, if only because it was something different. But Chelsea's words lodged a spike a fear in her gut that would not be removed; she hoped she was wrong.

Dead on midnight, Isabella was in one of the lower levels of the castle, hidden in a dusty old room long forgotten, waiting for Aro to arrive. When he did, he'd brought Edward along with him, and Isabella wondered just how high ranking her old lover was. The Volturi leader gestured for her to sit, but she shook her head, she was too nervous and preferred to stand.

"How are you, Isabella?" he began.

"Very well, thank you. Better once I know why you called me here."

"Of course. Edward?"

Edward, who had stood a step behind Aro's right shoulder, now stepped forward. He had a way of speaking, Isabella had found, that suggested a teacher speaking to a child, she found she resented it, seeing as how physically she was ten years his senior.

"Aro would like you to gather some information for him, from Caius, but you must do so secretly."

Isabella frowned. "You want me to spy on Caius...your brother?"

"He's not my brother. Continue, Edward."

"Yes. The Volturi has stood for over two millenia, and occasionally Caius can become a little secretive. It is nothing out of the ordinary, but Aro would like to know what he's doing with his time. Your gift allows you to be undetectable to those of us with gifts such as mine, and you have a superb ability to move almost silently. You are to find Caius, tonight, listen into whatever conversations he is having, and report back to us, here, at dawn. Do you understand?"

She didn't, not at all, but she nodded as though this was okay. The duo left, and Isabella finally sunk into the battered wooden chair behind her. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, she could hardly deny Aro his request, and of course, she knew just where Caius would be, but it all seemed too underhanded, too much like some sort of coup. Edward had said it was nothing out of the ordinary, but she had a feeling it was exactly that. Ever since she'd arrived in the castle, almost forty years earlier, she'd had the feeling she was being lied to. Frankly, she was sick of it.

Her decision made, she stood and strode through the castle to the base of Caius' tower.

Breathing deep, though it was unneeded, calmed her nerves before she began the silent ascent through the tower. She imagined she'd find Caius at the top, however, she was barely half way along the staircase before she heard voices. She stepped up two more steps, before she ceased moving. She'd found that since becoming a vampire, she could stand almost statue still, not blinking, not breathing. It was uncomfortable, but quite simple.

"Why are they there?" Caius was saying; Isabella could hear the annoyance in his voice.

"I have no idea," a second voice replied. Isabella couldn't place the owner. "They've been there a long time though, and our trackers lost sight of them three weeks ago."

There was a moment of silence. "Do you think they found them?"

"Found who, sir?"

"Joham's children," Caius spat. Isabella had never heard of this Joham, but for some reason the idea of this man's children had her nerves on edge. A noise from behind caused her head to snap back, but there was nothing there, the staircase empty save for her. Turning back, she tuned back in to the conversation.

"I'm not sure. We are not in contact with them."

"I see. And they're still masking as mates, on a...extended honeymoon?"

The other man laughed. "Yes."

There was a moment of silence, and Isabella heard the sound of footsteps and papers being shuffled. Holding her breath, she edged closer to the door, freezing as Caius spoke again. "I believe we should bring our guest in on this conversation, don't you?"

"Indeed."

Isabella heard shuffling from the room, and a door opening. She stepped back, prepared to run, and backed into someone's chest.

"There's someone who wishes to speak to you," Felix said, as his hands cracked around her arms, before dragging her into the room to face Caius.

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_Let me know what you think :)_


	17. Chapter 17

Now, I think a lot of you are going to like this chapter :). Also, over the next few chapters...well, this one and the next one, you might be a bit...surprised as to what's actually going on :) I hope so!

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Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 17

by missrebecca

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In the central receiving room, the three thrones of the Volturi leaders were empty. Aro and Marcus were looking over papers at the long mahogany table, while Edward played chess against himself and Heidi repainted her nails. Noise from the city below swirled through the open windows; the sound of night birds and early morning revellers heading to bed. When suddenly the generally relaxed atmosphere was shattered by the main doors opening.

Jasper strolled through the old oak doors like he owned the place. He had a smile on his face as he swaggered across the flagstones to where Aro stood, dumbfounded.

"What are you doing here?" Aro asked, after he'd recovered himself.

"Alice is still in Chili, so I came to update you, and to see Isabella."

As he spoke he clasped on to Aro's hand, relaying the last forty years to his leader. The meetings, persuading creatures from around the world to join their cause. He also saw the lonely hours, the conversations about Isabella, lamenting over having to be separated from her for so long. The whole process took only five minutes, and when Aro broke the connection he wore a smile.

"All of them?"

"Yes. At your call they will come. They are already working to quench the start of things." Jasper was quiet a moment to allow his words to sink in. "Now, my mate?"

Aro leaned back on the table, steepling his fingers as though in great thought. "Are you sure that's wise?"

Jasper's eyes narrowed. "You told me to stay away, and I did. No more, Aro. Surely she feels the same?"

Edward spoke, without lifting his eyes from his chess board, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"What do you mean? Where is she?"

"That's-"

"She's spying on Caius," Heidi interrupted, obviously bored with the men's games.

Jaspers eyes flared in anger and shock as he lunged for the Volturi leader's throat, a swift arm from Marcus managed to halt his attack. "Does she know what's happening here? Have you told her anything that I asked?"

"I have to know if I can trust her," Aro replied, voice calm despite the threat on his life.

"I told you that you could. Is my word not good enough?"

"You don't know her anymore." There was only a stark truth in Edward's tone.

"She's the same, I know she is." Calm now, Jasper turned his gaze back to Aro. "How long has she been gone?"

"We're due to meet shortly. As far as I know she's still in the tower."

"I'm going to get her."

Now Edward stood. "You can't. The only reason you've gotten away with being out of the castle for so long is because he thinks you and Alice are mates. You can't change that."

But Jasper was already leaving. "Then I won't."

His rage was quiet, as it always was as he strode through the castle halls. He had spent too long away from Isabella, and he wished to see the woman she had become in his absence. Jasper knew that should anything have happened to her, his wrath would be mighty and endless. As he climbed the steep stairs to Caius' office, he did not try to quiet his ascent, and knocked loudly on the door before entering. Caius sat at his desk, writing in his journal as Felix lounged on a couch reading an Italian translation of Shakespeare.

"Jasper," Caius spoke. "You're back. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Aro's looking for Isabella; I heard she had been seen this way."

"I see. Alas, I have not seen my brother's shield. I'll send her your way if I do."

Quickly, Jasper cast his gaze around the curved room; there was nothing. Seeing nothing else to do, he left, but waited at the base of the stairs; he was sure Isabella was somewhere in the tower.

Once Caius was sure Jasper had left, he nodded to a corner of the room, into which materialised a dark skinned man with a hand over a now visible Isabella's mouth.

"Did you see him?" Caius asked. "How he searched for you. Do you deny now that he is your mate?"

But Isabella was frozen. That man, Jasper, had stirred such feelings inside her that she had never felt before. There were memories surfacing, of a whole other life prior to her years inside the castle. He'd loved her, had held her and kissed her. He'd whispered sweet nothings in her ear. But where had he been all this time? She had no answer for that.

"Now," Caius said, interrupting her spiralling thoughts. "I'm going to allow you to leave and I am under no illusions that you will go straight to Aro and tell him everything you've seen. But before you do, think on this; Aro knows what I'm doing up here, he knows what I speak of. He doesn't need you to spy on me. He also knows exactly who that man is to you. So why don't you know who he is?" A nod from Caius had the man releasing her. "Think on that, Miss Swan."

He turned his back, and Isabella, knowing she had been dismissed, left as quickly as she could.

At the bottom of the steps she paused to catch her breath. She felt like there was electricity buzzing beneath her skin, her head was floating and her gaze shifted between the walls in front of her and the memories attempting to surface. She didn't see him hiding in the shadows, didn't see him until he was in front of her, enveloping her in his arms and pressing his soft lips to hers.

She gasped into the kiss, scrambling to wrap her legs about his waist as she gripped tight to his hair. Suddenly, the hole within her was filled by the soft, hard, warmth of this man. They tore at one another, grasping skin and hair as they devoured each other. Bricks crumbled behind her back, yet they took no notice. She felt out of breath, giddy with happiness and pleasure, and filled with such a rampant need she wondered at how she could contain it. But when he whispered her name, the world stopped.

Suddenly, Isabella stopped moving. She dropped her legs and pushed this stranger away from her.

She hadn't felt pain since her change, but there was an ache brewing within her skull. Clasping her hands to her head, she shook it, as though to dislodge whatever was making her hurt. She could hear him speaking, could hear his worried voice but she couldn't answer him.

She saw him on a dark London street, saw him handing her an ice cream by a beach, and remembered drinking tea in a café hiding from the rain. Every touch, every kiss, every whispered declaration of adoration, they all sped swiftly back into her consciousness. Suddenly, she knew where she'd been before the Volturi had taken her, she remembered them breaking the door down, and remembered Jasper telling her that he couldn't stay.

Finally, she came back to herself, and found herself staring into Jasper's fear filled red eyes. Jasper, the man she loved, the vampire she should have stayed away from but couldn't have if she'd tried. This was the man who had bitten her, had turned her into what she now was. He was the man who had loved her and left, but with a promise to return, a promise to never stop loving her, for eternity.

"Jasper," she gasped, reaching out to touch him. He smiled, knowing that something had happened just then that he could never understand. He held out his arms, expecting her embrace. What he got was a slap across the face. "Where the hell have you been?!"

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	18. Chapter 18

I failed two of my exams. I've spent a lot of today crying, and a lot of time wishing I could just be better, and an even longer amount of time hating myself. But I'm just about over that now.

I've caught up to myself. I have half of chapter 19 written, but I'm hoping to get a ton done tonight and tomorrow night. It seems now that I have to focus back on revision all my muse for this story has returned lol. Anyway, I really hope you like this chapter :)

* * *

Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 18

by missrebecca

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Jasper felt the reverberation of Isabella's hand against his face for what felt like minutes. His mouth was open, his eyes wide, and Isabella couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. She was furious. She felt betrayed, by someone she'd thought would never leave her, yet the look on his face was too funny to stop.

"We need to get out of here," he muttered, taking her by the arm and marching back towards where Aro, Marcus and Edward were still sat, Heidi had apparently gone to procure their next meal. "You have some explaining to do," Jasper stated. He gestured for Isabella to sit as he faced Aro across the table; she did so, though she wished to stay glued to his side.

"Jasper, I'd remind you who you're speaking to," he said, but his eyes were frightened, trying to keep control of a rapidly spiralling situation.

"A man who's been in power long enough. The only reason I go along with you is because what that man," he gestured to Caius' tower, "is planning, is far worse than anything you can do."

Slowly, Aro licked his lips, keeping his eyes locked on Jasper's. Isabella watched the standoff with fascination. The two men were obviously powerful, that much was apparent, but she wondered who held the true power. When Aro's gaze dropped, she realised just the sort of man she had fallen in love with.

"Do you wish to tell her?" Aro said.

Jasper shrugged. "Some of it. But I think it should come from you. I don't know a lot of what you've had planned for her."

Quite suddenly, Isabella felt both uncomfortable and excited all at once. She gripped the seat beneath her until the wood splintered in her hands. Her whole life she'd known there was something else going on, why had she been released all those years before, why hadn't Aro simply changed her himself, if he'd wanted her so badly? Why had Edward pursued her in the first place? Perhaps now, after all this time, she would get her answers.

Edward stayed sitting at the end of the table, continuing his chess game as he spoke. "I like watching people, humans, in the city. I focus in on their minds and listen. It fascinates me, always has. But then you," his eyes flicked up to meet Isabella's for a second before dropping, "wandered through. You were so beautiful, young, naïve, and your mind was entirely blank. That had never happened to me before. I was intrigued.

"For years I have taken humans as lovers; men, women, it doesn't matter, so long as they're interesting, and you were _so_ interesting. It wasn't meant to last longer than a week, but Aro became aware of you and with Renata...disappearing all the time, he knew he'd need another shield. The plan was for me to bring you to him, in secret. To change you and to keep you hidden. None of the others were meant to know. But then Jane - Jane spoiled everything."

"You're the one who antagonised her," Marcus muttered. Isabella could only stare; she'd never heard the third Volturi leader speak.

At Isabella's confused look, Edward elaborated. "I ripped her arms off during training. She holds a grudge. Then you were taken, and I was given the choice. We couldn't change you, not then, Caius would have taken you and you wouldn't have been useful. So we got you out. Alec knocked you out, I made a fuss about wanting privacy, and then we...lied. Said you'd woken up, managed to get away from me when my back was turned. I rely on my gift too much; I didn't hear your footsteps. Blah, blah, blah, you understand?"

Isabella nodded, but said nothing. She knew Aro and Edward had gotten her out of the castle, but she'd never been able to work out how. She supposed it made sense, though she doubted everyone believed it.

"Good," Jasper said. "Now, the rest of it, Aro."

"The truth of it is you're a very minor part in a much larger plot. You were a side project, if you will. I think first, a little history. Caius is a great man, there is no denying that. He is a scholar and more intelligent than anyone I've ever met. But he's always had these ideas for the vampire race. We used to ignore them, they were just words and frankly we had bigger things to worry about, but after the werewolves, they couldn't be ignored any longer.

"Caius believes that vampires are far superior to humans, and would go so far as to say that humanity would be best served being ruled by us. About a thousand years ago, he found the way to do just that."

Isabella was quiet in the silence. "You mean he wants to take over the world?"

"Essentially," Aro said, wearing a weak smile. "One thousand years ago, the werewolves in Siberia rose up. They were little more than beasts, with no real co-ordination. They were a simple problem to fix, but Caius seemed to take great offence to them. It wasn't until two centuries ago we discovered what that disgust was covering.

"He had captured some of the Siberian wolves, locked them away in the catacombs of this very castle, almost twelve levels underground, in a place we didn't even know existed, and experimented on them."

The room was silent. Isabella daren't breathe in case she disturbed the hush that had settled. Her mind was spinning, filling in the gaps before Aro spoke. She hoped she was wrong.

"He created werewolves that can transform independent of the moon's cycle. They stand on their hind legs and their jaws are massive. Should they get them around your neck, you're dead. But in human form, they are just that. Human, easily killed. The werewolves we encountered way back when, once turned were sterile, but no more. Now they can breed and multiply in their hundreds."

Isabella took a breath before she asked her next question. "What is he using them for?"

"His plan is to enslave the human race," Marcus muttered, his tone dire.

Her mind went blank at his words, and it harkened back to the images she had seen from the war. She'd been a young woman, working as part of the WAAF after her parent's deaths. She'd seen what people with tyrannical views could do, had seen the images of the death camps and had heard the nurses tell stories of the soldiers they saw. Vampires never aged, never tired, never died. With someone like Caius at the helm, what would the world become?

"I just...I have one question. No offence, but you don't seem very caring towards humans. Why would you want to stop him?"

"The human race has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Their warfare is extreme, and they are resilient. Do you imagine they would go quietly? That they would allow their world to be overrun by creatures of nightmares and folk tales? The world would be cast into oblivion, and should humanity arise triumphant, which they do very well, we would be locked away in laboratories, for we hold the key to the one thing humanity wants more than anything; immortality."

Isabella knew that Aro's foretelling was correct. There would be no end to a war between vampires and humans, at least not until either race were completely eradicated.

"So if he's here, you know where he is and what he's doing, why don't you just kill him?" Isabella felt this was the obvious course of action, cut off the head to prevent global warfare. Yet surely it had occurred to those assembled already?

"Because one does not achieve a seat of power without being both parts ruthless and charismatic. He has many vampires believing in his cause, vampires who are convinced that what they are doing is right. To assassinate him now, inside the castle, would be to turn him into a martyr for those following him to rally behind." Sitting before Aro, Marcus, Jasper and Edward, in the face of their stark realism, Isabella felt small. She had been so focused on herself, on her missing memories and her own annoyances that she hadn't noticed that something far bigger was going on in the world.

With the threat of world domination and destruction hanging over her head, she wondered how everyone else got along with their lives. How were the humans not running for their lives? Why was Aro looking at her with nothing but calm acceptance in his gaze? Why did Jasper watch her with wary eyes, as though scared she would vanish? Why wasn't everyone scrambling to fix this mess?

"So what are you doing sitting here talking to me, when you should be fixing this?" She was hysterical, she knew; but she found she simply couldn't be calm.

"We haven't exactly been resting on our laurels," Aro jibed, before nodding for Jasper to continue.

"The reason I had to leave you," he began, taking her hands in his. Isabella felt calmer being near to him, like maybe everything would be okay so long as he didn't let go. "Is because for the last century Alice and I have had a job to do. We've been scouring the globe for outlying covens, finding them and ensuring their involvement should any wars break out in their area. It hasn't been easy, many vampires wish to stay entirely separate to the rest of the world, but most recognised the need for aid. We've also been meeting with other creatures, shape-shifters, dryads and even some witches."

Isabella's eyes widened. "Witches? Dryads? I...what?"

Jasper's smile was playfully mocking as he spoke. "What? Vampires can be real; werewolves can be real, but nothing else?"

Isabella smiled, dropping her gaze to their joined hands. She wondered how she had managed to forget about this man, and about the love they shared. Sitting before him, with Aro and Edward right there, she realised she was horribly angry.

"Caius knows you're my mate," she said. "He knows what you and Alice are doing." Turning now to Aro she spoke again. "There's a man, I don't know his name, but he's able to turn himself invisible and anyone he's touching. There was also a mention of Joham's children, if that means anything to you?" The Volturi leader nodded his thanks, and Isabella's gaze turned to Edward. Standing from her chair, she forced herself to drop Jasper's hands, and strode to stand toe-to-toe with her previous lover.

"You knew, all this time. You knew why I felt so empty, and yet you still just kept coming on to me. I was starting to forgive you; I thought maybe we could be friends. But now I know, you're just a manipulator, out for his own, selfish to the very end." Edward's eyes dropped, and for a moment Isabella felt guilty for the pain she saw in them, before she spat, "Stay away from me."

Stalking back to where Jasper stood, she took his hand, and, turning to Aro said, "Leave us alone for a while. Try not to meddle. We'll be with you in a few days to help." And with a sweet smile she strutted from the room, a happily smiling Jasper in tow.

* * *

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	19. Chapter 19

I finished it :). I'm going to try my hardest to have the next chapter up by next Saturday, but my exams are in the next 10 days, so I wouldn't hold me to that. I really hope you like this :)

* * *

Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 19

by missrebecca

* * *

Jasper walked heavy, the heels of his boots kicking up dust as his fingers trailed across the papers that had lain on the desk for almost half a century. Isabella had never moved them; she said something always held her back. She watched him from the fraying couch, as he walked through distant memories she was sure she wasn't even alive during, and wondered how she had survived the last forty years without him.

She'd never been one to rely on a man, had never bought in to the concept of male superiority. Her mother had worked just as hard as her father, her father had cooked and cleaned as much as her mother, and they'd been the happiest couple she'd known until the day they died. And yet, there was a part of her, some freshly healed wound, which wondered just how she had managed without him.

He turned to her now, with those eyes that saw through her, and a smile meant only for her. When he grasped her hands, she got shivers and remembered what it was like to be human. She remembered her heart picking up speed from just one look, and how his kisses sent her mind tumbling and her body yearning. She felt all of that again, though her heart didn't beat and her body needed no air, she could have sworn her body was reacting just the same.

"Why did you leave me?" She didn't want to sound so accusing, and when Jasper's eyes flinched, Isabella couldn't stop herself from rubbing a comforting thumb over the back of his hand; showing she was there, and wasn't upset.

"I was so angry, for so long after I left you, but I know that Aro only did what he had to, to get me to leave. After we were brought here, Alice found me, struggling with Santiago and looking to get myself killed by all accounts, I don't really know, all I wanted was to get to you. She managed to calm me some, and convinced me that it was in your best interest not to show how I felt about you, and that I should just go along with what was about to happen."

"They'd planned it? Aro, Edward, and Alice. I remember...I remember thinking at the time how staged it all felt. Like they were reading off of a script only they had."

"That's a nice way to put it. Before I came in to the hall, Edward explained what was going to happen, and laid it out very succinctly for me. If I stayed, they would kill you. If I chose to leave, they would allow me to change you, and eventually return to you. Except I couldn't trust; eventually. I made them give me forty years. Forty years to do my job, then I could come for you."

"Forty years was a long time," she complained.

Jasper smiled. "Not when you've lived as long as we have."

A comment like that should make her feel small; it would from anyone but Jasper. Instead she smiled and sighed, and thought 'I wonder what I'll feel like, when I've lived as long as you?'

"So," she began, "Running around the world with another woman, not exactly the best thing for me to hear."

Jasper laughed and stood to take another turn around the room. Isabella felt the distance, felt the emptiness when he let go of her, and hated herself only a little for feeling so reliant on him already. "Alice isn't really...well she is a woman, but it's never been like that."

Isabella frowned. She was glad, of course, but a part of her wondered how it couldn't have been 'like that' before Jasper had met her. From what she remembered, Alice was a good looking woman, surely there was attraction there. "Alice is over a thousand years old, she doesn't remember her human life, but when she awoke, she had all of these visions. They didn't make too much sense, apparently, but the one thing she saw over and over again was a vision of her mate."

"Oh, well it makes sense now," Isabella said.

Jasper smiled sadly, "I'm not finished." Fingering an old photo on his desk, he continued speaking. "Alice sees the future in all its possibilities, she saw visions of her spending the rest of her existence with this vampire, she saw it taking years to find her, and in others it taking days. But she never found her. Five hundred years after her change, she saw one final vision, of her mate being ripped to pieces by werewolves. She's had no romantic feelings since."

"That's awful. She must be so lonely," Isabella said.

"Not at all. She is loved and loves others. I love her, as a sister, and she has her own coven of sorts. Her life is full and happy. But no, there was never anything romantic between us."

He came towards her, open palms rubbing her naked arms, and she felt such shivers she thought she would combust from simply his touch. His lips sought hers, and all she wanted was to fall in to him. Yet there were questions pushing at the forefront of her mind; questions that demanded answering before anything could possibly happen between them.

When she pulled back, he sighed, but smiled and looked expectantly towards her. "How did you and Alice come to work together then? And with the Volturi?"

"Like I said, about five hundred years ago Alice saw a vision of the werewolves, and with the loss of her mate she found a new purpose; to track them down. About two hundred years ago she found them, and what she saw frightened her so much that she knew her only choice was the come to the Volturi."

"What did she see?"

"The same thing I did, around the same time. Except she was in Russia, and I was in Canada. We saw an army, of sorts, of werewolves, which in itself is not such a terrible prospect, but it was that they were being led by vampires, that truly worried us. That our two species were working together, and to an obviously destructive end, was paralysing. I'd despised Aro for a long time, but I knew he was the only one who could fix this, if he wasn't the one pulling the strings."

Isabella cast a furtive look around the stone walls, worried of hidden ears just beyond them, before leaning forward and whispering, "You're so sure he's not?"

"Aro has no designs for the human race. He's quite happy living out his power fuelled life in secrecy."

"So you agree with the Volturi, with their system?" Isabella had seen much in her time in the castle. She had seen covens punished for seemingly minor crimes, simply so Aro could acquire the lone member with a gift. She thought it barbaric, but kept quiet. But with her mate before her, she found she could no longer keep her feelings to herself.

"Not at all...at least, I didn't. The fact is that over the last couple hundred years I've seen more than I'd like to, and I've seen just what the world might be like without them. Every race needs control, needs laws and rules, and needs people able to uphold them. Aro might be power hungry, he may be callous and ruthless, but he upholds the law, and sticks to the rules set out by him and his brothers. In a world such as ours, where anything is possible, there can be no grey areas; no room for error."

While she could understand his words, and could see the reason and need behind them, she could not quite agree. "I suppose I might understand once I've lived a little longer."

Jasper smirked, "I do hope not."

Isabella smiled, before speaking. "Okay, so you met Alice here, then what? You just set off round the world together?"

"Not quite. But we got along well, we realised that with her visions and my control of emotions we'd have a pretty good chance of recruiting people to our cause. Of course, Edward would be the obvious choice, but he won't leave Italy"

"Ever? How long has he been here?"

Jasper shrugged. "I'm not sure. He was here when I arrived, and he's always been Aro's right hand man."

Isabella contemplated that for a moment. Edward had never struck her as someone hungry for power. He revelled in controlling the guard, and controlling her, but he never seemed to be one for gaining more. He also didn't seem the type to be almost afraid of leaving a country.

Shrugging off thoughts of someone she'd rather she never saw again, she turned once more to Jasper. "I'm wondering," she began, and smiled when he groaned, obviously exasperated with her endless questions, "are you ever going to kiss me?"

Jasper took her face in his hands and had her back against the wall, barely getting out the words, "Thank God" before his lips were upon hers. Stone crumbled beneath their ardour, and fabric was stripped from flesh, exposing them to one another for the first time, though it could have been the thousandth for how much they noticed. When their skin touched, sparks flew and Jasper knew he had never felt so fulfilled but in that moment. Their eyes met as lips explored new skin, fingers skittered, gripped and tugged, caused fractures in stone skin that was not painful, only marking ones territory.

When he entered her, with a roar and a whimper, and such strength Isabella was glad she was as strong as him, for the brick and mortar was crushed beneath them. For a moment all was still. They felt tingles beneath their skin and a need so primal it could come from nowhere but the magic that kept them alive in death. In sync they opened their jaws, exposing razor sharp teeth, and then plunged them into their partner's neck, marking them forever for each other alone.

After that it moved rather quickly. Though there was no evolutionary need in the act, the love and the wont was still there. Scars healed and old wounds, old heartbreaks melted beneath their passion. The room was broken; wood splintered and fabric ripped, until finally they lay in a sated heap. Isabella felt for sure that she would never move again, so tired she felt, and beneath her Jasper's chest rose and fell as though he had run a marathon.

"Better?" she asked.

"Much," he replied.

In the breaking dawn, their eyes met; black slowly turning back to red, and in the sunlight, they laughed until their sides ached with their happiness.

* * *

_Let me know what you think :)_


	20. Chapter 20

Sorry it's taken me a while. I had to do 2 resits, but I've passed them! So I am now going in to my final year in September :D woo hoo!

Anyway, this was a little difficult, and it's only short, because I wanted this in the story, but it doesn't really fit with my plan for the next few chapters.

Hope you like it :)

* * *

Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 20

by missrebecca

* * *

A bird was singing outside their window, calling forth the rising sun as it shone it's light through the small window high in the wall of the room. Isabella and Jasper laid like cats, sprawled across the floor rug, curling and uncurling their fingers as they ran them along every inch of exposed skin. They had spent the night making love, taking their time to explore one another's bodies, relishing in every gasp, sigh and moan the other gave out. Isabella wasn't sure she'd ever felt so content.

Hours passed in silence, they didn't speak, only answered the call of the other for mating, to become one. Isabella could feel herself healing, coming back to life in a way she simply hadn't been with Jasper missing. He too felt some great change happening, as his moods swung and shifted until she was the centre of everything.

Occasionally there words broke the silence of the day, random questions that entered their minds. Trying to get to know one another again.

"Where have you been? These last forty years. Anywhere interesting?" Isabella asked, running her fingertips along his naked back and luxuriating in the soft rumbles that emanating from his chest.

"Here and there. South America, North America, through into the middle-east and the Eastern Block. Though we didn't venture further than Dubai. After that we're almost entering werewolf country."

Isabella was quiet. "I think...once this is all over, we should travel the world."

Jasper rolled onto his back, leaving Isabella's fingers to slip along his abdomen to his groin. "Will you be able to? After all, you're a guard member."

"Only because I felt there was no other choice for me. Now I know there is, and if Aro or Edward think they can stop me leaving they are sorely mistaken."

He laughed, and Isabella found herself rolling over to lay half on top of him. "Well," he said, running a hand along the curve of her hip. "If anyone can leave, I think it'll be you."

"Of course," she smiled, before leaning over to kiss him. But what started as a simple kiss quickly spiralled into something more. She rode him hard and fast, and knew she would never get enough of him. Realising that they had each other for eternity, didn't even seem long enough.

Day turned to night and they found themselves sitting with their backs against opposite walls. Jasper sat, naked, with his legs outstretched, left foot over right, while Isabella sat legs crossed.

"Why did you follow me that night in London?" she asked.

"I was hungry, you were going to be my next meal."

Isabella barked out a laugh. "I'm glad you didn't."

Jasper smiled. "Me too."

"But then you followed me to Bristol?"

Jasper frowned, cocking his head to the side. "I'm sure we've had this conversation."

Isabella shrugged. "Not all my memories came back."

"Well I was fascinated. You obviously knew what I was, and after that first meeting, I felt something shift. I knew you were my mate. It was odd, though, not like this, when two vampires meet. It was as though I knew the bond couldn't be reciprocated the same."

"But you didn't change me. Weren't you supposed to change me?"

Jasper dropped his head, brushing a hand through his chin length blond curls. "Yes, I should have. It was a mistake that I didn't. I wouldn't have been separated from you then."

"Well there's no use crying over spilled milk, it's not as though we can change what happened now. Plus, I've kind of enjoyed my time here."

When Jasper looked at her, Isabella knew he was trying to get a taste of her emotions, but all he got was a blank slate. "I'm being serious," she continued. "It hasn't all been a bed of roses, but I met Chelsea and Demitri, and I really like them."

"Fair enough." He's quiet a moment. "We'll have to go see Aro again tomorrow, you know?"

Isabella sighed. "I'd been afraid of that." Suddenly, a wicked grin over took her face, and her red irises slowly faded to black. Slowly she pulled herself onto her hands and knees and crawled across the stone floor until she was straddling Jasper's lap. His hands naturally fell to her hips, and he fell with her as she pulled him to lie on top of her. "But not yet," she murmured, as he entered her once more.

* * *

_Let me know what you think :)_


	21. Chapter 21

It's been a while, I know. But I had a lovely holiday :) thank you to everyone who wished me well. Twas marvelous. Also, been away with some girls I met through fanfiction :D got a lot of my novel written...well...almost finished chapter 1 on the Sunday anyway.

Hope you like this :)

* * *

Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 21

by missrebecca

* * *

They spent three days in solitude. Saw three sunrises, two sunsets, before they remembered the outside world.

Their time spent reconnecting, had given Isabella hope for the future. It had been hard to imagine an eternity within the Volturi castle walls, with nothing to look forward to; she could admit that her life was stale. Yet now she imagined visiting exotic places with her mate. She wondered if she might return home, and see what had become of her beloved England. She wanted to see America, to visit Texas and the town in which Jasper had spent his human youth. In the quiet times, laying against Jasper's naked body, in those moments where she was almost dreaming, she envisioned swimming great oceans, skimming waves with whales and diving as deep as they can, since they don't need to breathe.

However, that would all have to wait, because the world was on the cusp of a war only a handful of creatures were aware of. She found it strange, that the vampire race, which lived as literal leeches off the humans, must now race to save them from a destruction they would cause themselves.

"We should go," she said, as the sun rose for the third time since their reunion. "People will be wondering where we've been."

"Probably, but let them wonder," Jasper replied, smirking as he rolled her, pinning her at her hips and hands.

Shaking her head, she flipped their positions and stood, searching through her drawers for a clean dress. There was a connection, like a string, that was pulled taught when she stopped touching him. At first it was almost painful, but after taking a deep breath, and telling herself that he was just there, he wasn't going anywhere, the tightness in her chest eased. "Our world's about to implode. We have to help."

"Why?"

Holding a peach cotton dress in her hands, Isabella spun on her heel her tousled hair spinning about her. "What do you mean; why?" she asked, confused and frowning.

"Why do we need to help? Aro has plenty of people at his command. We could just go, forget this place and everything that's happened and get on with our lives. Find a quiet island, and make it ours."

Isabella opened her mouth as though to speak, before closing it. Frankly, she didn't know what to say. She couldn't imagine simply running away from this, to say it had nothing to do with her was bizarre, because of course it did; it was everyone's problem. But the idea of an island, all to themselves; somewhere hot and sunny where they could swim and make love and simply be together, was terribly enticing. But she couldn't do it.

"We can't run away from this. We have roles to play, we could be useful."

Jasper stood and angrily thrust his legs into his jeans, before running a frustrated hand through his hair. He remembered the battles during his human war, and the newborn army he had spent his tenuous first years as a vampire in. The bloodshed and the pain and the anguish. He'd had enough of fighting for his life, and now that he had found his reason for being, simply wished to _be_.

"You could die, ripped from me before I even get to love you properly," he muttered, so quiet Isabella wasn't sure she'd heard him right.

Sighing, she slipped her dress over her head, and walked barefooted to his side. Placing one hand on his chest, the other on his back, she felt the unnecessary rise and fall of his chest, it was something she didn't do, having never had to play human. "I love you. And you won't lose me. I won't leave you."

"Should think not," he muttered, placing a kiss upon her brow. "Come on then, best go see what's going on." And so taking Isabella by the hand, they walked slowly through to the main rooms.

Isabella had never walked so slow before, and she realised that Jasper was walking at a human pace. She felt that each step was endless, the pauses unnecessary, and many times Jasper had to hold her back from almost running away from him. Each time she sighed but smiled and tried to match her footsteps to his, with a varying degree of success.

Finally - and it truly felt like finally to Isabella - they arrived at the receiving hall that also seemed to serve as the main hub of the Volturi's decision making. It was as they left it, Edward playing chess, while Aro and Marcus pored over maps of Eastern Europe. Isabella returned the smile that Marcus sent their way, and came to stand at the opposite side of the table to Aro.

"Back so soon," Edward commented, though Isabella did not raise her head in recognition. "Tired you out, did she? She's a firecracker in bed, no?"

Isabella felt Jasper tense beside her, but it was she who could withhold her anger no longer. "Who do you think you are?" she snapped, slipping into the Italian that had become her natural language inside the castle walls. "You think you can talk to us like that?"

"And why shouldn't I? It was just a little joke," he replied, standing from his game in order to tower above her. But Isabella wasn't about to be intimidated.

"You think you're a big man. You stand so close to the centre but who are you really? Nothing but a selfish coward who wouldn't know a good thing if it knocked him on his arse."

Edward's eyes widened. "Oh, I'm selfish? Look in a mirror, sweetie, you're no better. All you think about is yourself. Try thinking of the bigger picture here. Who cares if I broke your heart, if I torment your mate, if I come on to you and lie to you and all the other _horrible_ things I've done. We're in the middle of a war here, and we have been a long time before you flounced through our doors. You're nothing here, and it's about time you realise that."

"You stay away from me and Jasper, do you understand? I won't hesitate to rip your head from your shoulders and b-" The clearing of a throat behind them made her pause, and she realised that they had moved until they were toe-to-toe, glaring in to each other's red eyes.

"Sorry to break up the party," Jasper commented in English. "But I never learned the language, so please do share."

Isabella laughed at his face; the slight smirk and one raised brow. She turned from Edward without a backward glance to stand beside her mate. "Sorry," she whispered. But Jasper only shook his head with a smile on his face, before lightly brushing his lips against her nose.

"What are we looking at?" he asked, turning from his mate to Aro and Marcus by the table. He didn't want to tell Isabella of the jealously that had arisen within him, upon seeing her battling so passionately with Edward. She was his mate, and he knew there would no longer be any romantic feelings for either of them except for each other, but Edward could still instil a passion within her that Jasper could only just admit to himself he disliked.

"We've had word that Caius' forces have moved into Romania; they are planning to attack Asau in Bacau County. A sort of test of his might against the humans there." Aro pointed to a spot near the eastern edge of the country. Isabella frowned, before this she wasn't even sure where Romania was.

Jasper frowned and - keeping Isabella's hand in his - moved closer to the map spread out on the table. "Asau...isn't that…"

"Where Vladimir and Stefan reside? Yes, it is."

"Do you suppose he's going there for support?"

Aro barked out a laugh. "What support? The Romanians are alone in the world, and always will be."

Marcus's droll tones broke through Aro's assurance, however. "I would not be so sure. Our eyes have been turned too long from our old friends. We could not say what power they have been amassing, and just on our doorstep."

Through all this talk, Isabella stood silent, trying to make some sort of sense out of their words. "Excuse me," she interjected, "Who are Vladimir and Stefan?"

"Some three thousand years ago, we stole control of the vampiric race from them. Well...from their leaders. Vladimir and Stefan are all that is left of a once mighty guard."

"And they're who Caius has run to, for help?"

Edward now joined them; standing at the opposite end of the table from Isabella he rested his hip against the wood, as though unconcerned with their talk. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it is coincidence."

"Coincidence?" Aro spat. "He could not have picked a least coincidental spot."

Isabella sighed and rubbed the strange ache forming between her eyes. "His motives are irrelevant, frankly. What are we going to do about him? He's out in the open now, correct? We could attack him and kill him in the field. Show his supporters their cause is lost."

"And destroy the monsters he has created," Edward snarled.

"But you said they could breed. They didn't ask for this, and there'll be women, mothers, children, and fathers. People fighting for the person who essentially gave them life. You can't kill them for being pawns."

"They would as soon as kill you. Are we to drop our guard and try to reason with them? They are naught but soldiers, they've chosen their side, and I say let them die by it."

Isabella turned disgusted eyes on the other men in the room, hoping that at least one of them would agree with her. Yet they all turned their heads. Shocked, she turned to her mate. "You can't say you agree with this. To eradicate a whole race for no other reason but the nature with which they were created. It's genocide!"

"I agree. It would be wrong to hunt them down, to slaughter them in their beds. But in battle I'll kill anyone who tries to hurt you."

"And if they should lie down, ask for mercy. What then?" she directed her question towards the Volturi leaders, satisfied at least with her mate's prerogative.

"Mercy shall be given to those who wish for it," Marcus answered, looking to her with grave eyes.

Sighing, Isabella felt her ire dissipating. She suddenly felt very tired of what was to come. "What now then?"

"Now," Edward answered, coming to stand beside her with a smirk she'd long since come to loathe upon his face, "We train."

* * *

_Guess what's coming next chapter? Can you guess?  
Let me know what you think :)_


	22. Chapter 22

It's been a while...I know. It's coming to the end of summer, but I have plans for the rest of this story, actually, the rest of this story has been planned since the beginning...it's just a case of writing it :)

I hope you enjoy it

* * *

Bittersweet Bones

Chapter 22

by missrebecca

* * *

"Jasper!"

As their small group walked into the training room, Isabella's new friend, leapt with a shout towards her mate. There was an excited smile cutting across her face and her arms were slung wide, Isabella knew she meant no harm and yet she couldn't help but feel jealous as Chelsea wrapped her lithe arms around her mate's shoulders.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, before her eyes dropped to Jasper and Isabella's clasped hands. Her eyebrows rose comically, "You work fast don't you?" she commented.

Jasper only laughed, as he pulled Isabella closer in to his side. "I hear you've been taking good care of her for me, while I've been gone."

"Well yeah, but I had no idea…Since when?"

Jasper turned adoring red eyes to his mate, and felt such a colossal sense of belonging and happiness that he couldn't help the smile that broke across his face. He thought he must look like one insane, yet he didn't care. "Since she was human." When he'd been en route to Volterra, he'd worried that she would be too different to the woman he had left so many years before. He'd worried he would miss her brown eyes, and slightly clumsy nature. He was happy to know that what he truly loved about Isabella - her wit and sense of self, her determined drive, and her sense of humour - hadn't changed at all.

"Do you know what's going on here?" Isabella asked, she didn't want to be the one to fill in the ten or so vampires that were in the room.

Thankfully Chelsea nodded. "Yesterday a dozen or so left, following Caius." Isabella frowned, before asking who. "Santiago, Felix, not terribly surprising is it?"

"No, unfortunately."

Edward had finished talking to a group of vampires on the other side of the room, and stalked into Isabella's line of vision. "Well this has been lovely, but can we get on with it?"

"Do you ever take a breath?" Jasper asked, slanting a smile Isabella's way and sending a jolt of flirtatious pleasure through her; she felt a girl in love for the first time. Yet, Edward only rolled his eyes.

"Isabella," he said, "You're our weakest link right now," he continued, and Isabella felt a flare of annoyance and embarrassment, "We'll start with you."

Crossing her arms, she stood like a petulant child, weight on one foot and hip sticking out. "And who are you going to have try to kill me this time?"

"Not you," he smirked, just as a vampire Isabella had never spoken to, but knew to be named Raoul, stepped forward.

"Jasper," he growled around a sinister smirk, and Isabella felt her mate tense at her side.

"Oh come on," Jasper cried, "That was years ago, surely you're not still bothered?"

"Seventy-three, it was seventy-three years ago, and you buried my head."

"Yes, but…" Jasper gestured towards the man coming steadily towards him, "You obviously found it again."

Raoul shrugged his shoulders, twisting his face into an agreeable smile, before narrowing his eyes and crouching down low, as though preparing to pounce. "Perhaps, but I think it only fair that I return the favour."

Jasper's exclamation was lost when the room shook as Raoul bolted from the ground, vaulting himself through the air towards his prey. The vampires in the room watched with a mixture of disdainful annoyance, awe, and apathy. But Isabella's heart was frozen with fear and rage. It was a feeling so foreign and yet instinctual in a way she'd never felt before reuniting with Jasper. With no thought at all she jumped in front of her mate and thrust her hand in the air before her, as she'd been taught in her training, in order to catch the speeding form of Raoul and throw him as far away from her mate as she could. She never got the chance.

For when her hand came out, she felt a snap within herself, again something as instinctual as breathing to a human, and Raoul stopped within mid-air, inches from her outstretched palm. He frowned, but could not move a single inch, and shouted his annoyance at being denied access to his enemy. Isabella could only stare. She knew what this was, the mystical physical manifestation that had seemed so difficult and frankly too unrealistic a goal. In her shock the shield dropped and Raoul fell lightly to his feet, before brushing himself off and walking away, but his eyes promised his feud wasn't over.

Isabella turned wide eyed to Jasper, clenching and un-clenching her palm. "I feel like Wonder Woman," she muttered, smiling as Jasper laughed.

"We'll have to get you some boots like hers."

Isabella laughed. "The outfit, too?"

With a sultry smirk, Jasper shook his head. "No...just the boots."

"Well this is wonderful," Edward interrupted, ignoring the annoyed look Chelsea sent his way. "But we've made some excellent progress. Continue through the day, you head out at dusk tomorrow."

He was about to leave the training room, and already some of the other vampires had begun to move away, when a throat cleared in the doorway. "You'll be going with them, Edward," Aro said. He had his hands behind his back, and a slight smile upon his pale face as he looked upon those gathered in the room, ignoring Edward's shocked face.

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Don't be cute. I need you with them."

Edward laughed aloud, and Isabella could only watch the interaction, fascinated. Edward looked to be in disbelief, his eyes wide and his hands unsure what to do. "You're actually going to let me leave?"

"Well of course," Aro replied, his tone sinister, "why wouldn't I?"

Isabella watched as Edward's jaw clenched, before he nodded and stalked out of the room, sliding past Aro, so as not to touch the Volturi leader.

"What was that about?" Isabella whispered to Jasper, who only shrugged. Shaking her head she shook off her thoughts. "Let's get to work."

* * *

_Let me know what you think :)_


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